Out of Time
by KeiChanz
Summary: Inuyasha and Kagome are in a race against time as they rush to save their friends from an uncertain fate. While being pursued through a dark forest and fighting to stay alive, at times it seems hopeless, but together, they can overcome.
1. Part I

First off, let me just begin by sayING I AM SO INCREDIBLY HAPPY THIS IS FINALLY DONE YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

Secondly, I have several notes I want to make you aware of, however it's going to get sort of lengthy because I have a lot to say, so you if you'd rather skip it and go straight to the story that's fine. They're more my thoughts than anything and nothing is required reading to understand the story.

You all oughta know that near the end of the story I became very lazy because I just wanted to finish the damn thing so if it seems rushed, _that's because it is._ There are probably _tons_ of errors - **grammatical, spelling or otherwise -** **loose ends, loop holes, and plot points that I should have expounded on better,** but I was just so happy to be done with it that I didn't bother to go back, find any and fix them. Maybe someday I'll go back and fine-tune everything, but for now it's gonna stay as is because frankly I'm sick of looking at it lmaoo.

DO YOU KNOW THIS FREAKING MONSTROSITY IS 39 GODDAMN PAGES. which is why i'm splitting it into two parts.

I, uh, sorta forgot that Kirara existed so she's not anywhere in this fic lmao oops. So pretend she's recovering from some injury at Kaede's village or something.

The castle/stronghold Inuyasha and Kagome travel to is the castle that makes an appearance in the Band of Seven arc, where Bankotsu gets the Banryu back and slaughters all the humans living there. I am no expert on medieval Japanese castles, so everything mentioned about them is probably not accurate but again, I don't care so whatevs lol.

Actually there are probably a lot of things in this monstrosity that's not accurate so just...idk pretend that everything is true and factual lol.

Oh I guess I should mention this takes place perhaps a year or so after the Band of Seven arc so I tried to make it as realistic as possible and added rotting bodies and the like so. Meh.

Throughout writing this I kept switching between _Tessaiga_ and _Tetsusaiga_ and ended up sticking with the latter because honestly to me it looks better and that's what I've always used anyway. I also didn't know whether to use English terms for demons or go with youkai, and decided to stick with the Japanese terms because I also like that one better haha.

Uh...okay so I guess it wasn't that long, but still, I know some people don't like to read author's notes and just go straight to the story. I'll probably edit this later when I think of something else I wanted to say but can't think of right now.

Please forgive any inconsistencies regarding Inuyasha's appearance; I'm so used to writing him as silver-haired and dog-eared that sometimes I'll forget myself and describe his hanyou attributes instead of his human ones.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings and on with the story! Please, please, _PLEASE_ enjoy this stupid oneshot that took over my life and caused me serious lack of sleep.

 **Out of Time**

"Take your shirt off. At this point it's just a rag hanging off your body and we can't leave that unwrapped."

Kagome made a face, afraid that he was going to say that, but she didn't protest because she knew he was right. So with a resigned sigh, Kagome attempted to pull off her wet-and-ruined-beyond-recognition shirt without moving her arm too much. But when it became apparent she couldn't lift her arm much without gasping in pain and tears pricking her eyes, large hands gently brushed hers away and went about ripping the garment off of her with a few deft flicks of his wrist, the already torn fabric tearing easily under his strength despite it being damp.

She stared woefully at the bloodstained, torn, dirty and still damp shirt as he pulled it away, too exhausted mentally _and_ physically to care that she was sitting topless in front of him with only her bra to preserve her modesty. It was just as well, she supposed; its purpose as a shirt had long ago been sacrificed to bandage the gash on her thigh and with it being as torn and filthy as it was she may as well have been running around topless anyway.

Wordlessly Kagome watched him rip off yet another section of the garment as a makeshift bandage, taking a moment to wrap what was left of it around Tetsusaiga for later use before kneeling before her and wrapping up the laceration on her arm. Kagome studied him quietly with tired but alert brown eyes. He was in just as bad a shape as she was, probably more so because of his deeply engrained instinct to protect her at all costs. Because of that he was covered in more cuts and bruises than she was, his hakama and suikan torn in several places, darkened with new and old blood, and still slightly damp from their plunge into the river hours earlier. She noted the angry downward slash of black brows over fierce violet eyes, his strong jaw clenched and his lips pinched into a tight line as he knotted the fabric over the worst of the cut to keep pressure on it.

She knew the sight of her – dirty, exhausted, and wounded – was something that he blamed himself for and she wished he wouldn't. Their situation was neither of their faults, and she didn't know how many times she'd told him it was just bad timing, that there wasn't anything they could have done to prevent it. She knew he was worried, both for them and for those they sought, and the guilt in his eyes was plain to see every time he looked at her or whenever he cleaned one of her cuts.

After all, nobody could have predicted their friends would end up in mortal danger on the night of the new moon. Nobody could have guessed that the youkai that kidnapped them – masquerading as a human – would have a human army at his disposal, and they most certainly wouldn't haven known they would be forcefully driven away from the stronghold that kept their friends by said human army, using bows, swords, and javelins. Inuyasha and Kagome had had no choice but to flee for their lives before the weapons did more the just graze their skin. Kagome had gotten stuck in the thigh on their bid for freedom and after that Inuyasha had swooped her up into his arms and _ran._

It was only after the sounds of the men chasing them had disappeared perhaps an hour later that Inuyasha deemed it safe enough to finally stop and treat her wound and that had been the first time they used her shirt as a bandage. Since they hadn't been able to grab anything before fleeing, Kagome's bag with all her medical supplies and her bow and arrows were still at the camp and when they'd tentatively gone back to retrieve them, they'd found everything missing. It didn't take a genius to figure out the army had ransacked their camp and taken their belongings with them.

It also hadn't taken long to decide to go back and rescue their friends – not going back hadn't even been an option – and of course Kagome had to argue with Inuyasha to accompany him since he'd been deadest on leaving her behind. It was only after she'd pointed out they were too far away from Kaede's village that Inuyasha had begrudgingly given in, hating the fact that it made sense. It would only be wasting what little time they may have to rescue them to go all the way to the village then turn right back around and head toward what they thought to be the youkai's stronghold.

A soft breeze filtered through the trees and Kagome, not for the first time, silently thanked the gods that it was a warm night. Her newest injury, the one Inuyasha had just bandaged, had been caused by another run-in of their quarry's patrolling soldiers some twenty minutes ago and without Inuyasha's enhanced hearing or smell, he'd been unable to detect their presence or the whizzing arrow's path until it was too late. Kagome's scream of pain had been Inuyasha's only warning before a barrage of spears and arrows rained down on them and Inuyasha hadn't even had time to think before he grabbed Kagome, dove into the trees to their left and ended up rolling down an incline into the river. Kagome barely had time to draw in a breath before Inuyasha had submerged them once again and urged her to swim along the bottom of the river away from their attackers.

Thankfully they'd managed to lose them and so now here they were, in the middle of the forest on the night of the new moon, still hours away from daybreak, both of them filthy, sore, exhausted and sporting cuts and bruises everywhere. They had no idea what condition their friends were in, if they were even still alive – although they both tried to avoid thinking about that – or if _they_ could even survive the night with those damn soldiers on the prowl and actively looking for them with orders to no doubt eliminate. Kagome and Inuyasha were sure it was only sheer blind luck that they'd managed to escape with only minimal bruising and wounds thus far, and not for the first time cursed the fact that it was the new moon. Had Inuyasha been hanyou he'd be able to evade the warriors completely in the treetops, easily track down their friends, knock down anybody who got in his way and the five of them would be on their way back to Kaede's village, safe, uninjured, and together again.

But it did them no good to dwell on the what if's and could have been so Kagome focused on the here and now, studying Inuyasha's face in the dark, barely able to make out his features but close enough to see the worry and pain he was trying to hide. He hadn't gotten away unscathed either, Kagome recalled, and though she wanted to treat his wounds too, it would be a lost cause because she knew he wouldn't let her, telling her they were just "scratches" and they'd be gone in a few hours, anyway. It was true, though that didn't mean she had to like it.

Right at the moment, though, the regret in his eyes and face was prominent and before she could stop herself her hand rose and gently touched the cut that slashed through his right eyebrow, still oozing blood that trailed down his face. Her touch drew his eyes to hers and she tried to convey everything she wanted to say to him through her gaze, willing him to understand that it wasn't his fault, that none of this was his burden to bear.

Kagome offered him a thin smile that bespoke of her exhaustion but it was genuine and she was gratified to see Inuyasha's expression soften slightly. He sighed, closed his eyes and brought a hand up to capture hers, pressing her palm to his cheek and simply relishing in her touch.

They were silent, reveling in the knowledge that they were together, still alive, and however battered and bruised, were determined to find and rescue their companions.

Another zephyr whispered through the trees and Kagome shivered that time, her wet hair not at all helping her plight to remain relatively warm despite the nice weather. It hadn't gone unnoticed by her companion and wordlessly Inuyasha straightened before shrugging out of his suikan. Kagome smiled but then it faded in confusion when instead of handing it to her, he dropped it to the ground and instead shed his kosode before dropping it over her shoulders and redonning his suikan. She was about to ask why his kosode instead of his firerat, but stopped when she noted the less than stellar condition of the robe. Since he was human the self-repairing properties of the garment were not in effect and with it riddled with holes and stained with blood, it wouldn't do much to cover her.

Gratefully Kagome shoved her arms through the sleeves, still damp but uncaring and since it was large on her, she gathered the hem and knotted it at her waist. It gaped in the front and showed a slight amount of cleavage and the fabric of her bra, but she didn't care since it more or less covered her up and she doubted Inuyasha gave it a second thought either. They were both too tired, too sore to be embarrassed and driven in their mission to rescue their friends for Kagome's modesty to even be a footnote in their minds.

Inuyasha left the firerat hanging open and reached down to help Kagome to her feet. They both knew they had little time to stand around and regather their strength, however Inuyasha needed to take stock of his wench's condition; she was so much more fragile than him, more prone to bruising and wounds and it fucking terrified him that she was here with him, being hunted by those damn warriors, but there wasn't anything he could do about that, so the least he could do was make sure she was well taken care of. Or at least, as well taken care of as she could be given the circumstances.

"Doing okay?" he muttered, sweeping an unruly strand of damp hair behind her ear and not liking how pale she was.

Kagome gave him another smile and though her dark eyes had lost their usual brightness due to fatigue and pain, it was genuine. "Yes," she answered simply and pressed a hand to his bare chest, over his heart. "You?"

The corner of his lip twitched up into a half-grin. "Keh," he mumbled. "I'm tougher than you humans. I'll live."

"You _are_ one of those humans right now," Kagome softly reminded him, her smile fading but not disappearing. "I just…I know you're stronger than me, and your skin probably _is_ a little tougher than mine, but…Inuyasha, promise me you won't be so reckless from now on. Don't think I haven't noticed you've been shielding me from the worst of it." She leveled him with a knowing look, daring him to lie.

Inuyasha didn't answer because she was right; his scored and bleeding back could attest to that and he simply stared at her, completely unapologetic.

His silence unsettled her and she must have seen the resolve in his eyes because her chocolate eyes grew wide and her hands clutched the open sides of his robe, her voice holding a hint of desperation as she pleaded, "Inuyasha, _promise me."_

He didn't know if it was their situation, the look in her eyes or his unwavering resolve to always protect her, but whatever the reason Inuyasha couldn't stop himself from lifting his hands and gently cupping her face, her soft gasp of surprise reaching his ears. "My first priority will _always_ be your safety, Kagome, and if that means taking a few measly arrows in your stead…" His meaning was clear as he trailed off, his dark eyes intense as he willed her to understand what he didn't say.

If it meant Kagome would live to see another day, he would gladly lay his life down for hers.

By the way Kagome's eyes glistened with the threat of tears, Inuyasha knew she'd gotten his message loud and clear. "Inuyasha—"

Inuyasha sighed and stalled any further protests by dropping an unexpected kiss to her forehead. "We don't have time to argue about this, Kagome. Later, after we find and rescue the others and everyone is safe we can discuss my 'recklessness' all you want, but for right now we need to concentrate on staying hidden and taking down the bastard that took our friends. Alright?"

It was clear by the way she pursed her lips and pouted up at him that she wanted to continue the conversation, but she knew he was right, even if she didn't want to admit it, and gave in with a nod and a small sigh. Still, she couldn't help but saying, "Please, just…be more careful. For me."

 _That_ was something he could do and his reply was a quiet hum of acquiescence coupled with another press of his lips to her forehead. "Deal, wench. Now let's get moving; the longer we stay in one spot, the more likely it is they'll find us."

Kagome nodded again, appeased now that her beloved hanyou-turned-human would also think of his _own_ life instead of just hers, and didn't protest when he took her hand and tugged her deeper into the trees. By silent agreement they both kept a lookout for their pursuers while simultaneously taking stock of where exactly they were. Inuyasha wasn't certain, but he suspected they were pretty far north and relayed as much to Kagome.

"North," Kagome repeated with a thoughtful frown and grabbed Inuyasha's hands as he helped her over a fallen tree. "North…wait—isn't that where the Ox Tiger is?"

Inuyasha snapped his gaze to her and his brows dipped as he considered her words. "No, I think that was more northeast if I remember," he mused, hooking her waist with an arm and bringing her down next to him. He stared over her shoulder at nothing, his expression contemplative; something tugging at the back of his mind insisting that he was missing something crucial here—

"The Band of Seven," Inuyasha suddenly blurted at the same time Kagome said, "Mount Hakurei."

Kagome's eyes widened and Inuyasha clasped his hand urgently onto Kagome's arms as they both realized the same thing. "But it was destroyed," he reminded her with a small shake of his head. "There's nothing left but big ass spikes and boulders."

She seemed to deflate a little at that observation and she sighed, wrinkling her nose. "Oh yeah," she mumbled. "I forgot."

Inuyasha cursed as he thrust a hand through his hair in frustration, scowling off into the trees. He knew there was something else he was forgetting, something they were both missing. It was _right there_ , in the back of his mind, on the tip of his tongue, taunting him with the knowledge that they would be _that much closer_ to finding the others if he'd only _remember…_

"—a human army," Kagome was saying but he was only listening with half an ear, "wouldn't there have to be like…a castle, or something—"

Inuyasha whipped his head round so fast Kagome gave a soft gasp of alarm.

"What's wro—"

"What did you say?" he demanded, his words urgent, gaze fixated on hers.

Kagome blinked and repeated what she'd just said while thinking aloud, "I said, he has a human army so wouldn't there have to be some sort of castle or something—"

"The castle," Inuyasha cut her off for a second time, his eyes widening as he once more seized Kagome's arms in excitement. "The fucking _castle_ , Kagome!"

Kagome opened her mouth, closed it, and gave him a puzzled look. "I don't…what castle?"

He made a sound of impatience. " _The castle where Banryu was kept!_ "

He was rewarded with another blank stare and Inuyasha scowled and was about to open his mouth to yell at her to use that damn brain of hers when she suddenly gasped and went stiff under his hands. Kagome's eyes grew large to match his own as her hands came up to wrap around his wrists. "The feudal lord's stronghold," she muttered, more to herself than to him. "That could—but isn't it in ruins?" she asked, frowning again, not daring to hope. "After Bankotsu got the halberd back, he slaughtered the lord and all of the humans residing in it. No one's been there since it happened."

"But a youkai wouldn't care about that," Inuyasha insisted, growing more certain of his conclusion by the second. "Actually it's damn near perfect for a youkai that likes his privacy; the foul stench of death and blood with the occasional dismembered body would drive away any lower level youkai sniffing around the area and I'm pretty sure no human would dare venture anywhere near it after what happened there."

Unbidden tears filled Kagome's eye and she gave a watery smile, squeezing his wrists. "Do you think—"

"Yeah," he said and offered his own grin in return, feeling like they were finally getting somewhere for the first time since the entire event started. "That's gotta be it. There's nothing else in the region except for the temple Renkotsu took over and that's burned to the ground. I doubt he'd care to cross the lake onto Hijiri Island, and the village where that damn Suikotsu stayed is too small to hold any interest for him. So that leaves the only structure large enough to house a human army and since he no doubt thinks himself as a high ranking youkai—"

Kagome launching herself at him with a choked laugh cut off the rest of Inuyasha's sentence and he happily returned her embrace, the relief at _finally_ having a lead on where their friends might be rushing through him like a temporary high and without even thinking it through Inuyasha leaned back, grasped Kagome's chin to tilt her face upward and dipped down—

Unbidden the hairs on the back of Inuyasha's neck stood on end and he barely had time to seize Kagome around the waist before spinning with her crushed to her chest and taking the arrow meant for her in his right shoulder. Kagome cried out in a mixture of alarm and dismay as Inuyasha grunted in pain, but there wasn't any time to assess the damage. Amid Kagome's fretting concerns asking if he was alright, he could hear the human soldiers closing in, making no effort to muffle their approach with their battle cries of victory and thundering charge through the trees toward them so gritting his teeth against the pain Inuyasha took off as fast as he could, half-dragging Kagome behind him as he dodged boulders, logs and ducked under low hanging branches.

Struggling to keep up with Inuyasha's frantic pace, Kagome stumbled and grit her teeth as her ankle rolled painfully beneath her weight. Her left thigh throbbed as the gash there pulled and stretched with her movement and she felt the warmth of fresh blood as it reopened, staining the dirty bandage.

"Dammit, Kagome, keep up!" Inuyasha hollered behind him and looked over his shoulder past her into the trees behind them. Shit, their assailants were getting closer and they _weren't going fast enough!_

"I'm—trying—" Kagome gasped and pushed herself to go faster, pumping her legs, her breath wheezing in and out of her lungs. "Inu— _ahh!_ "

Abruptly Inuyasha stopped with a rough sound of frustration, but it was directed more at their situation than the young woman that collided against him with a grunt, struggling to catch her breath. He paid her no mind as he frantically looked around at their surroundings, desperately searching for something to hide behind, trees with low enough branches to climb, _fuck_ , he didn't care what it was but they needed to find some kind of cover, _quickly,_ because Inuyasha knew to keep running meant a gruesome end and he'd kill himself before he _ever_ let that happen to his Kagome.

 _C'mon, c'mon, where—_

An arrow thudded into the thick tree right next to them and Kagome released a quiet cry of fright, crowding up against him. "Inuyasha—"

Fuck. Out of time.

With zero hesitation Inuyasha reached behind him to yank out the arrow still embedded into his shoulder, ignoring the burning pain that splintered across his back and arm. He tossed it aside carelessly and with an arm secured around her waist, Inuyasha dove behind the large tree where the arrow had landed, hoping the wide girth and cover of darkness would be enough to keep them hidden as he pressed back against the rough bark, drew Kagome between his knees and pressed her head into his chest.

"Don't move," he hissed in her ear just as a dozen soldiers burst from the trees behind them and the couple froze.

Kagome tried to make herself as small as possible against him, tucking her legs up, pressing into his chest and hunching her shoulders, holding her breath. He could feel her shaking against him and he tightened his hold around her, sucking in a quiet breath and pressing back tight into the tree as he closed his eyes, hoping, praying they wouldn't think to look behind any trees. That'd be too obvious, right?

He clenched his jaw and buried his face in Kagome's hair. _Please…_ _ **please**_ _let me keep her safe._

"What the fuck, Wakashi! You _missed!_ "

"You gave away our position, you bloody idiot! Don't shoot if you're not absolutely certain you'll hit!"

"At least I actually hit something! You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn even if it was ten feet in front of you!"

"You son of a—"

"Would you three shut the fuck up?! Your foolish squabbling is loud enough to wake the dead—"

"Ah, stuff it, Yoshino, you didn't even want to come in the first place."

"That's because I have better things to do than chase after some worthless half-breed and his whore."

Kagome flinched and Inuyasha bit down on his lip hard to stifle the cry of outrage that welled up. He could hear them walking around as they bickered and insulted each other, thankfully not coming close enough to their hiding spot, but still, Inuyasha was getting anxious and his heart was thudding painfully in his chest. They were staying too long, lingering; why the fuck weren't they moving on?

"If you four are done bitching and complaining like petty children," came a much deeper voice and the clank of armor suggested the speaker was the head of the squadron, "then I suggest we move onward. The targets are obviously not here or we would have found them already. Let's move out."

"I _saw_ them, Daisuke," the man who'd shot the arrow insisted. "I know I did—the abomination was wearing red, right? What else is red in the middle of the fucking forest?"

"A giant bird?"

"A youkai?"

"Your wife?"

The last one elicited rowdy guffaws from the rest of the soldiers along with Wakashi's indignant protest and even Inuyasha had to withhold a snort of amusement.

" _Enough!_ " Daisuke bellowed and the men immediately silenced at his less than pleased tone. "I want all of you to branch out, now—Sosuke, you and Wakashi head west, Yoshino, Nobu, due east, and the rest of you continue north toward the stronghold. Master Yuudai warned us that despite his status as a lowly half-breed, he is smarter than the average youkai and could have figured out where his human companions are being held. You must prevent them from breeching the walls. Now move out, all of you."

The warriors obeyed their commander without question, though there were a few grumbles and when footsteps approached their tree, Inuyasha stiffened as his blood ran cold. Kagome tensed and he knew she heard it, too.

"Are you daft, Wakashi? That is not west," the presumed Sosuke spoke up, his voice thankfully not any closer than it was before.

"Can it, So, I needa get my arrow. They don't exactly make 'em like they use to, y'know."

"Yeah, yeah, hurry it up, you bastard."

"Fuck off, bloody arsehole."

Closer and closer the footsteps drew near and Inuyasha knew he had to do something. Though the tree was wide and the night was dark, he couldn't take even the miniscule of chances of him discovering them. But what could he do? God, there had to be something, _anything_ he could do to distract him, divert their attention so they could sneak away—

Wakashi was just on the other side of the tree and Inuyasha didn't give himself time to think. With a colorful mental curse and clenching his jaw so hard it ached, he swiftly jerked Tetsusaiga from his hip and prayed the cover of darkness wouldn't give him away as he stretched his arm out and flung his sword as hard as he could in the opposite direction, away for their hiding spot.

Kagome sucked in a sharp breath and without missing a beat he clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound with a hissed warning in her ear to _stay quiet._

Tetsusaiga clattered against several trees as it sailed through the air and on its descent to the ground, as Inuyasha had hoped, and it successfully drew Wakashi's, and Sosuke's attention as it fell to the ground somewhere beyond the shadows, a satisfactory distance away from them.

"What was that?" Sosuke said sharply and was already moving to investigate. " _Fuck_ —I think it's them! Forget your damn arrow, Waka, we can't let them get away!"

"Goddamn—wait for me, you bloody arsehole!" Rabid footsteps followed after Sosuke into the trees and Inuyasha didn't waste a second.

"Run, go!" he hissed and gave Kagome a shove as he scrambled to his feet, catching Kagome's arm and heaving her upright when she stumbled. " _Go!_ "

Kagome did as she was told, forcing her legs to support her weight as she rushed headlong into the darkness before her with Inuyasha on her heels. Blindly she reached back and when his hand closed around hers she released a soft sob of relief and then both of them were swatting away branches and stumbling their way through the forest, trying to put as much distance between them and their pursuers while they could. Inuyasha tried not to think about just how he'd granted them the opportunity to flee and even though he knew he'd get his sword back again, it was still hard to leave it behind, and it was stupid but he felt like he was betraying his Fang.

Forcefully he shoved those thoughts away to worry over at a later time; right now he needed all of his concentration and energy saving their asses as they struggled to run in the dark to what he hoped was north, toward this Yuudai bastard's stronghold.

It was slow going; they weren't going _nearly_ as fast as Inuyasha wanted them to, but then again it was difficult to go fast when you couldn't see where you were going. They stumbled, tripped, slipped and fell, but never stopped. Whenever Kagome went down, Inuyasha was there to heave her back up and when Inuyasha faltered, Kagome urged him back to his feet. It was tedious, and exhausting, and damn right frustrating, but they knew giving up was not an option.

They didn't know how long they ran for but it felt like hours until they came to a small incline and Inuyasha urged Kagome to climb, only sparing enough breath to tell her to use the trees as leverage to hoist herself upward before demonstrating himself. Though her breath was coming in wheezes and she must have been on her last reserve of strength, Kagome followed without complaint, forcing her tired muscles to heave herself up using the limbs of trees and when she neared the top Inuyasha grabbed her hands and dragged her the rest of the way up.

Falling back against a nearby tree as Kagome collapsed against him, Inuyasha grunted and his legs abruptly gave out on him. Down he went, sliding to the ground and Kagome went with him, clutching the sides of his firerat as she shuddered and gasped for breath against him.

Automatically his arm went around her, keeping her cradled against his chest and for several minutes they did nothing but breathe, recovering from their frantic rush through the forest and as the adrenaline faded away, every little ache and pain made itself known with deep aches and twinges, muscles throbbing from hard use. Both of them were covered with welts and scratches from braches and they stung from the thin layer of sweat covering their skin.

Leaning his head back against tree, Inuyasha closed his eyes and winced, knowing they couldn't stay here long; they needed adequate cover before they could truly rest, but for now they could at least catch their breath.

God, when was the last time he'd run like that, desperate, frantic to get away? Inuyasha was stunned to realize, after a brief journey through memory lane, that the last time had been as a pup fleeing from those bigger and stronger than him seeking an easy meal or wanted to kill him for sport. And he was willing to bet for Kagome this had been the first time she'd been running for her life, and Inuyasha vowed that it would also be the last.

And speaking off, Kagome was going limp against him, her breathing evening out and he knew she was seconds away from nodding off in exhaustion. He couldn't let that happen, not until they had a safe place to rest.

Grimacing, not without a stab of guilt, Inuyasha nudged the young woman resting against him and when that didn't work, he grabbed her shoulder and shook her back awake. "Kagome," he rumbled, voice hoarse. She whined. "C'mon, you can't sleep yet. We need to find a safe place first."

Kagome groaned and shook her head and then winced when her body protested even that small movement. "Nooo," she breathed, unable to muster the strength to even lift her head. "Tired."

Inuyasha sighed and reached between them to grasp her shoulders, gently leaning her upright. "I know, I am too, but we can't stay here. C'mon, we just need to get down the other side of this hill. I can see some rocks and what looks like a big ass hollowed out tree trunk that might work. It's not that far and then after we're safe, I promise you can rest. Alright?"

No, it was _not_ alright. Instead Kagome huffed, gave a little whine of frustration, but with great reluctant somehow managed to muster up the strength to push herself upright on her own, using his chest as leverage. "I don't like you right now," she pouted and willed her legs to obey her silent commands to get up. They stubbornly refused to listen.

"I know." With every ounce of strength he had left Inuyasha heaved himself to his feet, wincing as his muscles twinged in protest but he ignored it. "C'mon, wench," he urged when she still hadn't moved. "Get up."

Kagome bit her lip and tried, but pain shot through her wounded thigh and she gasped. Clasping her hands over the gash that had started bleeding again through the already soaked-through bandage, she sounded near tears as she admitted, "Inuyasha, I don't think I can." Gritting her teeth against the pain she shot him a helpless look.

Inuyasha grimaced. As much as he wanted to assist her, he knew he wouldn't be able to support both his weight and hers and he tried to make his voice gentle as he said, "Then scoot down on your ass if you have to, but we have to move, wench." With that Inuyasha carefully picked his way down the slope, using limbs and trees to keep him from sliding too much until he was safely at the bottom. He looked back to find Kagome doing as he'd suggested, and though she didn't look too happy about it, she was slowly sliding down on her bottom while at the same time trying to keep her skirt from revealing more than she'd bargained for. He grinned in amusement despite himself then shook his head and went to poke around the rocks and trunk a few feet away.

Immense relief swept through him when he discovered there was a little nook large enough for both of them to hide out in for at least an hour or so and after making sure no animal had sought shelter within, he came back around and found Kagome pale-faced and breathing heavily leaning against the rocks. He hated to make her move even an inch more, but it was necessary.

"A little further, wench," he told her and she loudly groaned her displeasure before obeying and crawling the small distance where he stood. Inuyasha ducked inside before her and arranged himself so he was facing the opening with his knees bent. With the wood of the truck creating a ceiling of sorts as it jutted out and the rock waling them in it suited their purposes just fine.

Though he doubted she could truly see him in the dark, Kagome was peering at him from the low opening and he beckoned her forward with a wave of his hand. "C'mere," he muttered and instantly she was crawling the rest of the way in, settling herself between his raised knees and collapsing against his chest with a long, drawn out sigh of relief. He gathered her into his arms as she stretched her leg out and Inuyasha gently probed her thigh, frowning when his fingers touched warm wetness. Shit, she was bleeding again and there wasn't a damn thing they could do about it, not in this darkness and when they could barely move.

She must have known where his mind wandered off to because Kagome covered his hand where it lay on her thigh and gave it a soft squeeze. "S'okay," she whispered, seconds from slipping into slumber. "It'll stop."

He didn't say anything and prayed that she wasn't losing too much blood or infection wasn't setting in as he dragged the sleeve of his robe over her thighs and pressed it against the wound. She winced softly but otherwise didn't protest. The injury he'd gotten from the arrow had already clotted, he was sure, so at least he didn't have to worry about that on top of everything else. Threading their fingers together, Inuyasha swallowed the lump in his throat and pressed his lips to her temple.

"We can only stay for a bit," he told her. "Just until we get back a little of our strength and we're not dead on our feet. Get some rest and I'll wake you in an hour or so, alright?"

Kagome sighed, gave a nearly imperceptible nod, but instead of instantly nodding off like he expected her to, she uttered after a slight hesitation, "…I'm sorry, Inuyasha."

He cast a puzzled frown at her. "What for?"

Her guilt was obvious as she replied, "If I hadn't stumbled, if—if I was running faster you wouldn't have had to—"

"Stop it," Inuyasha cut her off and tightened his arm around her. "You don't have to apologize for anything, got it? I told you before, wench, _you're_ my first priority. _Go. To. Sleep._ We'll talk more later _._ "

Of course she didn't listen. Had he really expected anything else? "But…but it didn't have to be Tetsusaiga! You could have used…I don't know, my shoe or something."

"Don't be stupid, Kagome.

"Inu _yasha._ "

He growled, or at least his human vocal chords made the equivalent of one. "Throwing your _shoe_ would have slowed you down even _more_ , idiot. The forest floor ain't exactly a grassy meadow."

She paused and then sounded adorably contrite as she muttered, "Oh."

Bringing a hand up to tiredly rub his eyes, Inuyasha heaved a sigh and said softly, with more patience than he thought he had, "It's not like I don't know where it's going," he assured, secretly pleased that she was as worried about his Fang as he was. "They took your bow, didn't they? So it stands to reason they'll probably take Tetsusaiga to the stronghold, too. I ain't too worried. S'not like that Yuu-bastard can use it, and if it turns out a human stole it, I'll just sniff 'em out when I'm hanyou again and take it back. No problem."

Kagome wrinkled her nose and still didn't sound appeased. "I guess so."

He rolled his eyes but couldn't stop his lips from twitching upward. "Keh. I _know_ so, wench. Now would you quit your worryin' and get some rest? The more time you spend yakkin', the less time you have to rest and the more tired you'll be when we get movin' again."

In answer Kagome wiggled around to get more comfortable and when she started muttering to herself about how the hard ground made it hard for her to sleep, Inuyasha shook his head and stalled her useless squirming by abruptly lifting her up and shifting around to cross his legs before settling her back down into the cradle of his folded legs. She made a soft noise of appreciation and wrapped her arms around his waist beneath his robe, tucking her head under his chin, and then finally drifting off with a small sigh.

With Kagome wrapped safely in his arms, Inuyasha stayed awake for as long as he could, determined to keep watch and protect his wench, but eventually the lull of sleep was too difficult to fight anymore and with a quiet sigh he closed his eyes and succumbed.

When he woke up a little over an hour later, grateful for his deeply engrained survival instincts for allowing him to set an internal alarm clock of sorts, he was alert within a few seconds and the first thing Inuyasha noticed was that Kagome was awake as well. Surprising, but definitely not unwelcome. Waking Kagome was never a pleasure since it always took two or three tries to rouse her and if she didn't get enough sleep she was always crabby for the rest of the day.

Now he was just glad he didn't have to spend time they didn't have waking her up.

An ache in his neck and shoulders made itself known right then and Inuyasha winced, rolling his shoulders to reduce the stiffness and not for the first time cursing his weak human body for being prone to such aches. What a pain in the ass. And neck. And shoulders. And—

"Hey."

Settling back against the hard stone, Inuyasha sighed and gave the woman in his lap his full attention. "Hey," he said and belatedly realized that he could make out Kagome's features a little better than before. It only served to remind him that time was not on their side. How many more hours until sunrise? Four? Three?

Kagome must have realized the same thing because he felt her tense as she whispered, "I can see you. I mean I could before, sort of, but now it's…"

Inuyasha's tone was grim. "Yeah." He paused. "I'm surprised you're already awake."

She wrinkled her nose. "Well, it's not from lack of trying," Kagome admitted petulantly and Inuyasha could just make out the pout on her face. "I don't know if it's some kind of…deeply rooted survival instinct or something, but it's like I'm trying to unconsciously distract myself from our less than pleasant situation, because even though _I_ know I need to rest, my brain is like 'let's think about that really embarrassing thing you did five years ago that nobody probably even remembers and obsess over it and oh by the way, bugs. Bugs everywhere' and how the _hell_ am I supposed to sleep with that?"

Inuyasha coughed and turned his head to hide his grin, telling himself it really wouldn't be a good idea to tell her how cute it was when she cursed because likely he'd received a death glare and threats of bodily harm for his troubles. Still, Inuyasha couldn't help but liken her righteous indignation to that of a furious kitten.

And forget simple _threats_ of bodily harm if he ever made mention of _that_ ; Kagome _would_ inflict bodily harm on him, probably to _very_ sensitive parts on his body, and Inuyasha promptly decided that he had a death wish because why the _fuck_ did he suddenly feel like laughing?

Out of his peripheral he saw Kagome's eyes narrow suspiciously at him and he fought to school his features. "Problem?" she asked and her tone of voice suggested he answer very carefully.

Clearing this throat, Inuyasha tamped viciously down on his amusement and managed to retain a neutral expression as he finally turned back to her and said, "Nope. So, five years ago, huh?"

Kagome stiffened and he wondered at the blush that stole across her cheeks. "Nothing. Drop it."

Inuyasha did not drop it. "What was it?"

"What was what?" she asked innocently, pretending to survey the canopy of treetops above them.

"Don't play dumb, wench."

Kagome leveled a withering glare at him and growled, "I'm _sure_ I have _no_ idea what you're talking about, _Inuyasha_."

Deciding that he'd probably provoked the furious kitten long enough, Inuyasha finally heeded her less than subtle warning to _shut up or else._ "I'll get it out of you yet, wench. Just wait."

Kagome loudly snorted her opinion of that and ignored Inuyasha's chuckle.

Shaking his head, Inuyasha sighed and gave his wench a reprieve by asking, "How ya feeling?"

Kagome eyed him for a moment, debating, but when all he did was regard her quietly, she sighed and answered, "Like I can sleep for a week."

He snorted. His sentiments exactly.

"I'm still sore all over but at least now I think I can stand without face-planting. You? How's your shoulder?" Without waiting for an answer she slid her hand up his back and tenderly brushed her fingertips across his shoulder blade, her lips pursing in concern when she felt the puckered edges of the hole from the arrow, crusted with dried blood.

To her surprise he let her inspect the wound with her gentle touches for a bit before shrugging his shoulder, dislodging her hand and she obediently brought it back to her lap. "S'fine," he rumbled. "Stopped bleeding a long time ago. How's your leg?" He patted her thigh draped over his knee in an absentminded gesture.

Experimentally Kagome shifted her left and predictably her entire thigh protested the movement. She winced and spoke honestly, "Aside from the expected soreness from hard running, it still hurts but at least it stopped bleeding. Still, I'm worried about infection. If only I had some water…"

Inuyasha sighed and regretfully shook his head. "We can't go actively looking for a water source but if we happen to come across a creek or something we can take advantage of it." Though he didn't show it he was just as worried; her wounds did need to be washed and treated before they worsened. "I'm sorry, Kagome. We don't have—"

"The time, I know," Kagome finished wearily. "I'm really beginning to hate that word. Dammit, if only they weren't out looking for us—!"

"There's no use griping about it now," Inuyasha interrupted, slightly amused and wondering if she'd been hanging around him too much if she was swearing now. "Besides, even if we _could_ wait around until morning and for me to change back, there's no telling how Miroku, Sango and Shippou are faring. It's best we get there as soon as possible."

Too late he realized his mistake as Kagome sucked in a sharp breath and she tensed against him. " _Shippou…_ "

Inuyasha grimaced and closed his eyes, feeling guilty and damning himself for opening his big damned mouth. "Kagome…" Helplessly he tucked her closer to his chest, wishing he knew what to do, what to say to make it all better.

"I know," Kagome sniffed and relished the feeling of being in his arms, knowing she was the safest place on earth right now. "I just…I hope they're okay."

His sigh ruffled her bangs and she felt the warmth of his lips press against her forehead. "Me, too," he rumbled and for the next minute the two of them simply sat there, taking advantage in this last bit of peace they weren't likely to have again for a while.

Then Inuyasha sighed and Kagome knew what he was going to say. "We need to get going. We've already hung around here too long."

"Slave driver," Kagome said but crawled out of his lap and out of their cozy little niche.

"Keh."

Inuyasha followed her out, ignoring the various aches and soreness of his muscles as he pushed to his feet and he took a moment to stretch, getting all of the kinks and knots out of his back and heaving a satisfied sigh as his back and neck gave several pops.

Kagome was glaring at him enviously and he couldn't help himself. He grinned at her.

Apparently the dark had lessened enough for her to make out his features because she snorted before whirling around and stalking off, grumbling under her breath and he didn't need to hear her to be able to guess what she was grumbling about.

Chuckling he took off after her, pleased to find that his short nap had rejuvenated his strength enough that he felt good about their oncoming mission. He still wasn't 100% of course, and wouldn't be until he had his demonic power back, but at least he didn't feel like he had when Tokajin body slammed him into the ground. All six hundred fucking pounds of him.

Bastard.

They walked for perhaps twenty or so minutes when Inuyasha announced they were closer to the castle than he'd originally thought and then five minutes after that they were relieved to stumble upon a small fresh water stream. They wasted no time in washing out their injuries, using Inuyasha's suikan to scrub off the dried blood and Kagome was gratified and relieved to find that both of her wounds weren't infected. Not yet, anyway; there was still a chance but at least the risk had lessened.

They both took the opportunity to scrub off the dirt and grime, and although it was nothing like a real bath, Kagome still felt marginally better a few minutes later when they set off for the stronghold again.

"Do we have a plan?" Kagome asked half an hour later after they finally breeched the tree line and the stronghold where their friends were being kept loomed before them. She tilted her head as she stared at the once majestic castle, wondering how on earth they were going to get inside. She'd forgotten how big the place was and despite it being abandoned for a little over a year now, Kagome was surprised how well kept it looked.

Then again, the only place that was really destroyed was the front part where they battled the Band of Seven so it stood to reason that the rest of the stronghold would remain more or less in one piece.

"Nope," Inuyasha answered, arms crossed as he gazed up at the sky. He wagered they had about two hours left until dawn, give or take, and Inuyasha wished it was even less time. Before they were using the cover of darkness the moonless night had provided for them in their bid to escape detection by Yuudai's army, but now that they'd finally arrived at their destination being a hanyou again would sure as _hell_ come in handy right about now.

Kagome nodded absently and chewed her bottom lip, contemplating, before finally giving up with a sigh and gazing at her companion with a hopeless look. "How in the world are we going to get in?"

"Servant's quarters," Inuyasha replied without missing a beat and Kagome blinked. Why the hell hadn't she thought of that?

"They'll be around the back," he continued, grabbing her hand and leading her down the slight incline. "I don't see any of the human warriors, so either the bastard's arrogant enough that he thinks he doesn't need the extra protection, or he sent the entire fucking army out looking for us. Damn fool doesn't even realize how easy he's making this," he muttered to himself as he slid the last few feet to the bottom. Kagome gave a squeak as she glided after him and he caught her with an arm around the waist.

"Or," Kagome said after she regained her bearings and swatted Inuyasha on the chest for that stunt, "his 'army' is significantly smaller than we thought."

Inuyasha paused to consider that and then snorted in amusement. "Either way it makes things simpler. There might be some wandering around inside, though, so stay quiet and alert."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Duh."

Ignoring her and staying low, gesturing for her to do the same, Inuyasha had no trouble finding a weakened section of the tall wooden barrier that surrounded the fortress, which wasn't all that surprising. In its state of disrepair the entire thing was pretty much useless at this point, but Inuyasha doubted Yuudai chose the place for its sturdy foundations anyway.

After walking the perimeter and staying tight to the outer wall, he found the servant's entrance in short order, his footsteps light as he navigated the deserted halls, his grip on Kagome's hand firm, and as they passed through the empty kitchen Inuyasha slowed down and gestured for Kagome to watch her step. Most likely in their haste to flee the massacre Bankotsu had started, the servants had literally dropped everything before turning tail and he made sure to step over the suspicious dark stains on the floor and being careful to not accidently kick some cookware across the floor, thereby making a racket. He honestly couldn't be sure if the erratically shaped stains on the floor were food or something else, though it didn't make sense if it was the former. Wouldn't any food have perished by now? Dried up, eaten by scavengers and rodents? Inuyasha didn't want to think about it so he didn't and instead concentrated on making it to the doors across the room.

He was glad Kagome was being extra cautious as well, stepping where he stepped and carefully avoiding the various cookware scattered all over the floor. She nearly stumbled once as she was stepping over a large stain of...something but a sharp twinge in her thigh made her fall short. Inuyasha reacted quickly, whirling around and catching her before she tumbled to the ground and gave away their location.

He glared at her; Kagome blushed guiltily and gestured to her wounded thigh. Inuyasha huffed, gave a short nod before helping her over whatever was on the floor. It was a relief when they finally made it to the double doors that led out into the large dining area, and although they hadn't had any run-ins with any warriors yet, Inuyasha still couldn't rule out there not being any wandering the halls as a lazy sort of backup.

Kagome must have realized the same thing because she didn't try to pass him and push through the doors, but instead crouched next to him and awaited further instruction, however he knew she must have been eager as he to save their friends. They were so damn close, but they couldn't afford to be reckless or thoughtless. Inuyasha hadn't survived this long without being careful, and despite not being the most level-headed or thorough when it came to strategizing, he found that his straight-forward, uncomplicated methods usually worked pretty well, if not even better than a detail oriented, thought out plan.

And since they didn't have the time to sit around and brainstorm out a plan, Inuyasha figured there was no time like the present to fucking wing it and hope for the best.

"Alright," Inuyasha murmured as he cautiously peered around the edge of the fragmented doorway, missing Kagome's contemplative look. "My guess is they'll be in some sort of hold or dungeon, or at the least a guarded room – he's a cocky bastard, but I don't think even he would leave prisoners unguarded – so our best bet is to check out the rooms closest to here first."

"Aren't dungeons supposed to be underground, or something?" Kagome peeked over his shoulder and attempted to gaze down the hallway.

Inuyasha absentmindedly pushed her back, away from potential threats. "Typically, yeah, but this is a smaller than average sized castle so an underground keep wouldn't be practical."

Kagome gaped. "This is a _small_ castle?" she asked incredulously.

Inuyasha frowned at her. "Have you _seen_ where Sesshomaru lives?"

Kagome bilked and promptly closed her mouth. "Um, right."

Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha looked back out into the hallway; no patrolling soldiers as of yet so it looked like luck was on their side. "Looks like we're clear," he said and inched forward. "Stay behind me and let's make this quick. The sooner we're outta here the—"

"Inuyasha, wait."

He whipped his head around to stare at her, brows snapping low over his eyes as he scowled. "Whaddaya mean _wait?_ We don't _have_ the _—_ Kagome _—_ "

Kagome took his hand, halting his protests. "Please, just…hear me out, okay?"

Violet eyes regarded her silently for a moment, confusion mixed with irritation, before he sighed and rolled his hand at her in the universal "get on with it" gesture.

Biting down on her lip as she deliberated on what to say, how to best approach this, Kagome took one look at the impatience clearly etched onto Inuyasha's expression and sighed in defeat. There was no easy way to say this, so might as well get it over with and endure the inevitable blowup.

Locking gazes with him, Kagome sucked in a breath and said, "I think…we should split up."

Telling him that she was suddenly deeply in love with Jaken would have had a lesser effect.

Kagome watched with growing trepidation as Inuyasha's eyes grew were impossibly large, the color drained from his face, and his mouth opened and closed as he tried to absorb the complete and utter bullshit she just spouted to him.

Then finally, "You want to _**WHAT?!**_ "

Kagome flinched and frantically waved her hands at him, wide eyes flicking to the doorway. " _Shhh!_ "

"Wench, are you out of your goddamn _mind?! Fuck_ no, we ain't splitting up! What the _fuck_ are you—we're in the middle of dangerous enemy territory and you want to separate us?!"

Desperately hoping Inuyasha's outburst hadn't attracted unwanted attention, Kagome lunged forward and clamped a hand over his mouth, her expression urgent. "Inuyasha, please—!"

Releasing what Kagome would have described as a growl had he been in his hanyou form, Inuyasha grabbed her wrist and yanked her hand down. " _Dammit_ , wench, how could you—I'm not gonna— _we're_ not— _No!_ " He glowered at her and Kagome recognized that particular expression: End. Of. Discussion.

This time, however, she didn't give in, determined to get her point across. "Inuyasha, please, listen to me! I wouldn't bring it up if I didn't think it was important!" Her eyes begged him, pleaded to let her explain before he shut her out completely.

Inuyasha clamped his mouth shut and glared at her in stony silence.

Kagome winced, knowing he wasn't happy with her, but taking his silence as acquiesce – however reluctant it was – she took his hand in both of hers again and began, "Think about it, Inuyasha. If we split up we'd be able to cover more ground and find the others quickly. You said it yourself, right? We don't have a lot of time and this is the most logical way to utilize what little time we _do_ have."

He clenched his jaw and turned his head, avoiding her earnest gaze.

Desperate, she tried again. "Inuyasha, I'm not saying this because I want to be away from you," she said softly and was rewarded with a miniscule softening of his features. She leaned closer and tipped him a small smile, "I trusted you whole-heartedly back in the forest and you've gotten us this far. Can't you trust me on this? Please?"

Inuyasha grimaced and closed his eyes. Dammit, why'd she have to go and use the trust card on him? Ducking his head, he opened his eyes and stared down at their hands, his larger one cradled within her soft palms and his heart clenched in his chest. He did trust her. With his life, but…god, what if something happened?

Feeling like she was finally getting to him, Kagome scooter closer and squeezed his hand. "Plus," she continued softly. "This way it'll also give you the opportunity to look for Tetsusaiga."

Inuyasha's eyes snapped wide and he jerked his head up to gawp at her. Clearly he hadn't thought of that.

She smiled again. "Even if it's not here, one of us is bound to come across Sango and the others at some point. And after you're hanyou again, it'll be easy to track down those samurai and get back your sword back. After all, no _human_ is a match for the great, strong, brave hanyou Inuyasha."

Inuyasha snorted and leveled her with a look that told her plainly that he knew what she was trying to do and he didn't buy her innocent smile for a second. Shaking his head, Inuyasha grimaced and shifted his hand so he could thread his fingers through hers and hold on tightly. Dammit, what she said made a hell of a lot of sense and he'd be a fool if he didn't seriously consider it. But still…

"Kagome…" His voice sounded tortured and Kagome knew this was a hard decision for him to simply accept, even if all the signs pointed to success.

Kagome gazed at him with gentle eyes, her smile a little sad. "I know," she breathed, "But this isn't about what we want, Inuyasha. It's about what we _need_ to do. And you know I'm right."

Inuyasha gazed at her in silence a moment longer, his dark eyes troubled, but then he heaved a heavy sigh and Kagome knew she'd won. Without warning he pulled his hand from hers and yanked her into his arms, crushing her against his chest and she automatically returned his embrace, burying her face into his shoulder.

"I hate it when you do that," he whispered in her ear and despite herself Kagome gave a soft laugh. "Fine, wench. We'll split up, but you have to _promise_ me you'll be careful, alright? I mean it, you fucking _run_ and start calling for me if there's even the _smallest_ chance of danger. I won't be there to protect you and if you find them before me, you find somewhere to hide, _quickly,_ until I find you guys. Understood?" He pulled back and grasped her shoulders tightly, his eyes intense as they bore into own. His jaw was clenched and his lips were a tight line, his fingers digging into her shoulders. His worry was evident, the terror that something would happen to her that he couldn't prevent eating him inside and something warm blossomed in Kagome's chest.

Stupidly she felt like crying as she raised her hands and circled his wrists with her fingers, not unlike hours ago when they first discovered their friends were being kept here. "I promise. You be careful too, okay?" She offered him a trembling smile. "I won't be there to stop you from carrying out your stupid impulses."

Inuyasha barked out a brief laugh and before he even knew what he was doing he leaned forward and brushed a soft kiss over her lips, once, twice, then pulled back not without a blush. He noted with some pleasure that Kagome's was darker. "Keh. Just…" He trailed off, looking like he wanted to dive in again for a much deeper taste, but then much to Kagome's disappointment he made a face and released her before abruptly standing and stepping out into the hallway.

He cast her one last glance. "Don't die, wench," he rasped and then stomped down the hallway, not particularly caring if he attracted some poor sod's attention. He could use a good fight right about now.

"You, too," she whispered, wanting to launch herself after him and beg him to go with her, but knowing she couldn't. Sighing, she forced her gaze away from his retreating figure and stood up, clutching the doorframe as she leaned around to gaze down the opposite end of the hallway and completely missing how Inuyasha hesitated at the end of the corridor.

She had just gathered up the courage to step out into the hallway when she suddenly heard a lurid curse from the other end and then footsteps stomping back toward her.

Startled Kagome turned her head to find Inuyasha determinedly striding back toward her, jaw set, eyes locking in hers and her mouth parted in wonder.

"Inuyasha? What—"

Before she could finish Inuyasha grabbed her shoulders, shoved her back inside the dark room and spun her around to pin her against the wall before grasping her chin in his hand and crushing her mouth under his.

Kagome reacted instantly, melting against him with a whimper, digging her hands into his hair and returning his kiss with a heated fervor that could only originate from a long suppressed desire for this sort of intimacy and the thought made Inuyasha groan as he dropped his arms to circle her waist and haul her tight up against him. He plied her mouth open with his tongue, needing to taste her with a savage urgency that roared through his veins, his hunger for her desperate, endless.

Kagome moaned and he swallowed the sound. Arching her back she pressed into him, tilting her head, gasping as he plundered her mouth, sending heat spiraling through her body and then suddenly his hands were cupping her ass and he was lifting her up against him, urging her legs around his hips and Kagome complied without a second thought.

Inuyasha broke away, his breathing labored as he growled against her lips, "I swear to fucking god, wench, if something happens to you—"

Hands cupping the back of his neck Kagome tugged him back, claiming his mouth in another torrid kiss that bespoke of her own fears and concerns, nipping his bottom lip, sucking gently, and then drawing the tip of her along across the sensitive flesh. Inuyasha groaned and took over, bracing her against the wall as one hand came up to tangle in her hair and angle her head so he could assault her mouth once again.

They stood there for an unknown amount of time, clinging to each other, kissing over and over, some desperate and hard, while others were slow, lazy and maddeningly hot. Eventually a warning bell went off in Inuyasha's mind and with great reluctance he finally pulled back, his breathing rough as he rested his forehead against hers.

"You come back to me, dammit," he rasped, violet eyes boring into hers intensely and promising swift retribution if she did not heed his demand. God, he didn't know what he'd do if…

Kagome huffed a breath that might have been a laugh and tipped him a small smile. "Only if you promise to come back to me," she breathed and feathered another kiss across his lips.

Inuyasha grunted. "Deal, wench." Allowing her to slide down his body and trying to ignore how good it felt, he stood there for a moment, savoring the feel of her against him, her taste on his lips and unable to deny himself one last taste, he dipped his head and gave her one last lingering kiss.

Fuck, it was so hard to leave her.

Greedily Kagome reveled in his kiss, pressing her hands flat against his chest, not wanting to be apart from him either, and before she could convince him to stay with a deeper kiss Inuyasha abruptly broke away and left without a single backward glance.

Kagome sighed and leaned against the wall to catch her breath and regroup her brain cells that Inuyasha had scattered with his thorough and passionate kisses. Her lips were swollen and tingling, and for a brief moment she allowed herself to remember the feeling of him pressed so heatedly against her. Good lord, but if _that_ wasn't incentive to come back unscathed…

Fighting against the urge to giggle, Kagome shook her head, braced herself and finally stepped out into the hallway, her footsteps light as she wandered down the corridor and not daring to look in Inuyasha's direction for fear of screwing the plan and charging after him.

Per her word, Kagome was extra cautious as she wandered the halls, peeking around corners, keeping her footsteps light – she'd ditched her shoes once she realized it was difficult to be stealthy with them on and figured she can just go back for them later – and ghosting across rooms, keeping an eye and ear out for anything that would lead her toward their friends. Her heart always pounded whenever she rounded a corner, uncertain what she would encounter as her flight or fight response kicked in. But then every time an empty corridor would greet her and nobody would burst through the door and she'd heave a sigh of relief before the whole damn thing started all over again a few minutes later.

It was nerve-wracking, for sure, but she would take chancing the unknown any day over encountering a patrolling samurai.

Kagome climbed up a short flight of stairs and tried not to think of what Inuyasha was doing or how he was faring, wondering if he'd managed to find Tetsusaiga or not. Every time she passed a window she was reminded of him, the sky getting steadily lighter until Kagome suspected dawn was very soon, perhaps in the next half hour or so.

 _Be safe, Inuyasha,_ she thought and distracted as she was with thoughts about her hanyou, Kagome rounded the corner without checking first...and stopped dead when her eyes landed on the solitary samurai standing before a set of double doors.

Unsurprisingly he noticed her presence immediately and shifted his stance, turning to face her as he lifted his weapon. It looked like some kind of spear.

"Hey, you!" he barked and Kagome reacted without thinking.

"Please!" Kagome cried and ran toward the guard, who lost his scowl at her plea and blinked at her in confusion. "Please help me! I'm being chased by a terrible youkai and—and I'm lost, I've been wandering this place for hours trying to find somebody to help me!" Kagome skidded to a stop in front of him and reached up curl her fingers over the top of his chest plate, peering up at him with wide eyes. "Please, you're the first person— _man_ I've come across and I'm so scared!" She said the last part on an exaggerated sob and as she willed her eyes to tear up, Kagome mentally thanked her mother for being adamant that she signed up for the drama club in school a few years ago.

Thrown for a loop, the guard gaped down at her and it was clear he definitely hadn't been expecting this. But, he did lower his weapon and didn't look suspicious at her fabricated story so that was certainly a plus. But then his demeanor completely changed, going from puzzled to tough-guy within the span of a few seconds and Kagome could have sworn he just puffed his chest out a little.

"A youkai, you say? Where is it?" Drawing himself up to his astounding height of what Kagome guessed to be 5'9 – Kagome had to suppress a laugh because Inuyasha had him beat by about five inches – the samurai adapted a fierce look of determination and Kagome inwardly smiled.

Hook, line, and sinker.

 _Sucker,_ she thought. Aloud and acting every bit the damsel she said, "I—I don't know," she stammered and took a step closer to him, tilting her head up and peering up at him from under thick sooty lashes. "But I know I have nothing to fear when there's such a big, strong _warrior_ like you to protect me. Right?" She moved her hands to his shoulders and smiled demurely up at him and when she saw him flick his gaze down to her cleavage, framed by the loose collar of Inuyasha's kosode, Kagome mentally cheered.

He made no attempt to hide the fact that he was blatantly staring at her chest and Kagome was suddenly very glad Inuyasha was not here to witness this; she had no doubt that if he had been this man's remains would be splattered across the wall right now, despite Inuyasha only being a human.

"Uh...that's right," he finally said and managed to drag his eyes back to her face. Then he grinned lasciviously, seemingly forgetting there was evidently a youkai running around somewhere that he should probably take care of. "Yeah, don't you worry, sweet thing," he drawled arrogantly and Kagome barely refrained from rolling her eyes. "I'll protect you. Just stay with me and you won't hafta be afraid no more." He looked down at her chest again, his interest glaringly obvious.

Trying not to cringe, Kagome's smile turned sultry as she slid her hands down his armored chest to the waistband of his trousers. "Oh," she cooed. "My _hero_. How can I ever...repay you?" Suggestively pressing herself against him Kagome bit down on her lip and tried to come off as shyly seductive while inwardly she was fighting back her gag reflex.

He actually licked his lips as his eyes greedily stared at her breasts and his spear hit the floor with a clatter as he released it to bring is hands up, tugging at the knot that secured the garment in place. "Well I have a few ideas," he said and chuckled a little darkly as he plucked at the knot with one hand while the other dragged down the collar and exposed her bra.

Kagome shuddered in revulsion and hoped he thought it was from excitement. He didn't falter from his task so he probably did. Telling herself this was necessary, that Miroku, Sango, and Shippou were probably just beyond those doors, Kagome slyly loosened the obi securing his pants, trying very, very hard to ignore how... _excited_ he was.

 _Ew, ew, ew, ew!_ Bracing herself, flexing her fingers and trying not to hurl everywhere, Kagome bit her lip and purred, "I'm _very_ sorry about this."

The samurai blinked and gazed at her with a puzzled frown. "What?"

The poor man's only warning was an innocent smile before mind-numbing, excruciating pain had him releasing a shrill screech that reached an octave Kagome would category as "window-shattering." His face went bleach white, tears leaked from his eyes and Kagome jerked her hand from his pants just as he went to cup himself. It seemed he was choking for breath as he fell to his knees, mouth opening and closing soundlessly and his eyes were unseeing as he stared at nothing before promptly falling over onto his side and convulsing in agony.

Kagome winced, and although she sincerely hoped she hadn't just destroyed his ability to father children someday, her sympathies went no further than that. He assisted in kidnapping her friends, after all; as far as she was concerned he had it coming.

Disregarding the softly keening man on the floor, Kagome stepped around him and wasn't surprised to find the doors locked, but it was a locking mechanism she'd never seen before. It sort of reminded her of a modern lock in that it looked like it required a key of some sort, but it didn't look very sturdy. Actually it looked relatively easy to break however that didn't exactly bring any measure comfort because it meant, since they hadn't already, her friends were somehow incapable of breaking down the door themselves and it sent a cold feeling of dread coursing through her.

Acting fast and with zero hesitation Kagome scooped up the discarded weapon, aimed the pointed end toward the locking device, and releasing a harsh battle cry Kagome promptly thrust the spear into the weak metal with as much force as she was able.

The weak metal gave, breaking apart and scattering onto the floor but Kagome didn't take the time to relish in her victory. Clutching the spear in her hand, she tore open the doors and dashed inside, wielding the weapon before her and instinctively falling into a battle stance she'd seen Inuyasha take many times. Her expression was fierce, determined, ready and willing to fight for her friends' lives.


	2. Part II

Once more, feel free to skip my meaningless ramblings and go straight to the story.

Making Yuudai blind was a last minute thing I decided to add and sometimes I forgot that he _was_ blind, so if you happen to spot a phrase or word that implies that he can see, don't hesitate to let me know because I actually _will_ go back and fix that lol.

Pretty much the same goes for this part too like part 1 one did: lotta errors, spelling, grammatical and otherwise, possible loop holes, loose ends, plot holes. Y'know, stuff like that. Let me know if you can tell at which part I started to get super lazy and started rushing through things just to get to the end lmao the end that i rewrote like three times because i didn't like any version of it ;adjfliahefiao;hf

 **Fun fact:** Bats are, in fact, _not_ blind.

 **Another fun fact (and a bit of a spoiler):** Originally I was going to kill off Yuudai because y'know he was the big bad villain, kidnapping their friends and whatnot, but then for some reason how I was writing him started to change and suddenly it felt too cruel to kill him off hahahah so I carried out Kagome's creative threat instead ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

If you have any questions about anything or need me to expound on something more thoroughly, feel free to shoot me a message! I'll be happy to explain.

Why didn't Shippou warn Kagome of their enemy's approach? Because reasons that's why. (idk maybe he got knocked out again or something)

 **Note:** If Sango's reaction seems muted or if you think she didn't talk much, it's because I didn't really care enough to spend too much time depicting her emotions and thoughts. I just wanted it done. Sorry Sango enthusiasts.

 **Another note:** There is a very tiny bit of smut at the end and it's dedicated to my love **Ryupioupiou** because she drives me crazy with her sinful headcanons and special shoutout to **Lacyjaybird** because your tags on tumblr made me feel like I actually didn't waste my time writing this. Love you girls! ::heart::

Okay sorry here you go.

 **-X-**

"…Kagome…?"

The javelin dropped from her hands as tears sprung to her eyes and with a cry Kagome darted to the middle of the room where Shippou and Miroku lie, unmoving.

" _Shippou!_ " Dropping to her knees Kagome scooped up her fox fix and cradled him in her arms, stroking his face and releasing a quiet sob. He was soaked in sweat, his face pale and his usually bright emerald eyes were bleary and dulled with pain. "Oh, baby," she whispered and smoothed back a damp lock of copper hair. "What happened? Are you okay? Is Miroku—" She flicked her panicked gaze to the man lying on his back and was relieved to see his chest slowly rising and falling.

"S-sutra…" Shippou rasped. "Back…"

Kagome's eyes widened and instantly she lifted him up against her shoulder to stare down at his back. Sure enough a rectangular piece of paper had been plastered to his back and a sound of fury echoed in her throat as she quickly ripped it off.

Immediately the kit's box went limp in relieve and she clutched him to her tightly, hugging him for all she was wroth as she rocked back and forth. How dare that creep do this to her little Shippou?! Ooh, when she got her hands on him, she was going to do much worse than what she did to the poor sod she'd left before the doors; she'd goddamn _castrate_ the sadistic bastard!

She had to bite back another sob when she felt his tiny hands clutch her borrowed kosode. Cradling in her arms again, Kagome kissed his forehead and she was rewarded with a tired, wan smile. She tried to return it. "What happened, Shippou? And"—she did a quick scan of the room and frowned—"where's Sango?"

Shippou sighed and struggled to sit up. Kagome helped him so he was sitting upright in her lap. Turning his gaze to Miroku, his eyes welled up with tears and he gazed up at her mournfully, the regret in his eyes almost too much for her to bear. "I tried to stop him, Kagome," he sniffled and dashed a small hand over his eyes. "I—I d-did my best to protect them—"

"Shh, it's alright, baby," Kagome soothed him, stroking his face. "I know you were very brave and I'm sure you did everything in your power to protect them, and they know that, too." Shippou sniffled again and nodded. She kissed his forehead. "Tell me what happened, Shippou."

Sucking in a breath, Shippou relayed what happened, telling her how they'd all been knocked out on the way here and collectively woke up in this room. When they came to, a tall blue-haired youkai had been standing over them, though he described the color as a sort of bluish-silver. He'd called himself Yuudai, that he had a some centuries old vendetta against the great dog youkai general, Inuyasha's father, and he was going to make his half-breed son pay by taking everyone that is dear to him, torture them mercilessly, and then end their lives. Sango had been his first victim, claiming that he hadn't had a decent meal in weeks and the sweet cries of a woman's fear and pain never failed to excite him before dragging her kicking and screaming off into the connecting room. Miroku had tried to go after them but a vicious blow to the head knocked him unconscious once again and when Shippou had attempted to rescue her, one of the guards took a sutra from Miroku's robes and slapped it onto Shippou's back, immobilizing him.

Shippou had been forced to listen to Sango's screams and attempts to fight back until she'd stopping screaming altogether. That had been hours ago.

"He left a little while ago," Shippou concluded ten minutes later. "He didn't say why, but..." Emerald eyes blinked up at her and then widened in sudden fear. "Kagome, do you think he knows you're here? What about Inuyasha? Is he here, too?" The hope that Shippou had lost was slowly starting to set back in, brightening his eyes, bringing the life back to his youthful face. If Inuyasha was here, he could save them! Even if it was the new moon and he was human, Inuyasha was the strongest human he knew!

Kagome managed a small smile for him despite the anger rushing through her veins from his explanation. Sounded to her like this Yuudai youkai threw a temper tantrum and was taking it out on them. "Yes, he's here," she assured him and was glad to see her kit look like his old self again. "We decided to split up. We were almost found by the youkai's human army and Inuyasha had to distract them by throwing Tetsusaiga away from us so we could run. He's searching for it now."

Shippou blinked and pointed over to the wall. "Isn't that Tetsusaiga over there?"

Kagome stared at him then looked over to where he was pointing. Sure enough a very familiar black sheath was leaned up against the wall, the equally familiar hilt confirming that it was indeed the fang.

"Well, that's one less thing we have to worry about," Kagome surmised as she gently set Shippou aside and stood up to retrieve Inuyasha's sword. It felt like greeting an old friend when she picked it up and the weight was comfortable in her hands. She sighed, nodded, then adjusted the knot securing Inuyasha's kosode so she could slide the sword through it and then tightened it back up.

"You said he took Sango into the other room?" Kagome questioned the fox kit as ambled back over and knelt beside Miroku to assess the damage to his head. The blow was to his temple and aside form a small cut that had already clotted and a pale face, he looked no worse for wear and with Shippou's help she adjusted him into a more comfortable position.

"Yeah," he answered as he gently patted the monk's pale face, clearly worried. "I don't smell a _lot_ of blood, but..." He bit her lip and looked imploringly up at her, his concern for the slayer evident and Kagome gathered him close to her for one last hug.

"I'm sure she's fine, Shippou," she assured and kissed his forehead. "She's a fighter, remember? There's no way she'd let some youkai scum take her away and then torture her without repercussions." Even as she said them Kagome hoped to God she was right and that she wouldn't walk in there and find something...well, she just hoped her best friend was okay.

"Stay here with Miroku and protect him, okay? I'm pretty sure Inuyasha will be here soon and it's almost dawn. Then we can all go home." Shippou nodded and puffed out his chest, taking his role seriously as protector of the unconscious monk and Kagome directed a wan smile at him before spinning around and dashing for the doors.

Taking a deep breath, Kagome slid open the doors just enough so she could slip inside and then quickly closed them again just in case there was something Shippou really ought not to see. And it was a good thing she did; kneeling in the middle of the room, nude from the waist up, gagged and bound at her hands and feet, Sango was covered in as many bruises as she and Inuyasha were, what looked like sloppy bite marks littering her breasts with dried blood smeared across her tanned skin and her ribs looked like they'd been kicked several times. But she was conscious, alive, and gazing at her with wide cinnamon eyes, surprise followed quickly by intense relief when she saw who'd entered.

Kagome bit her lip hard to stifle the sob that welled up and rushed over to her, dropping to her knees and throwing her arms around her dear friend, her sister. "Sango," she rasped, pulling back and carefully pulling down the cloth that had been wrapped tightly around her mouth. The second it was loose Sango took in greedy gulps of air. Kagome worked on trying to loosen the rope binding her hands behind her back, but it was too tight. Sango's wrists were raw and bleeding from the rough rope biting into her skin and another wave of anger rushed through her on her best friend's behalf.

"Kagome," Sango said roughly and lifted her head to look at her friend with a mixture of relief and terror. "Kagome, you have to leave. He'll be back soon, he knows you and Inuyasha are here." Her voice was urgent, her breathing slightly labored as she dragged in lungfuls of air. She was tough; she could handle anything that damned youkai could dish out, but Kagome...no, she didn't even want to think about it. Her dearest friend, her sister...Sango couldn't let that happen to her.

Fighting against the urge to cry – she couldn't afford to be emotional right now, not when Sango needed her; when they _all_ needed her. She needed to stay strong, both for herself and her friends. Inuyasha was counting on her and she wouldn't let him down to reverting to the scared little girl she was while they were in the forest. She could _do_ this. Later, after everyone was safe, treated for their injuries and far, far away from this hell on earth, then she would allow herself to break down, but for now she needed to concentrate on being a pillar of strength for her friends.

With hardened resolve, Kagome ignored her warning and gave a curt nod as she looked around for something to cut the ropes with. "Yes, Shippou mentioned the same thing," she said and spotted an expensive looking vase situated in the corner. She considered it, decided it could work, and went to get a closer look. It came to about her waist, thick, made of ceramic; perfect.

"Kagome, you need to listen to me," Sango tried again, desperate to get her point across, afraid she would share the same fate as she if she didn't find a place to hide _quickly_. "Yuudai, I think he's some kind of blood-sucking youkai, and it's like...like it excites him or something, and the way he looked when he saw my blood, it...looked as if he was on the brink of...well, _completion_." She shook her head, shuddering in revulsion. "Kagome, he's a sick, twisted youkai and I couldn't bear the thought of—"

" _Sango_." Kagome took great satisfaction in heaving the vase up and smashing it down onto the floor, shattering it into a hundred pieces. It was a token victory, but a victory nonetheless. If only it were his _head_ instead. "I'm _not_ leaving you, alright?" Her tone brooked no argument. " _Especially_ after what you just told me. I'm not leaving you, or Shippou, or Miroku and if he even gets close to me I'll purify the bastard. How could I ever leave my closet friends to the mercy of some demented youkai who gets off on blood play?" She shuddered. "I'd never forgive myself." She picked through the shards and selected one large enough to fit into her palm before leveling the youkai exterminator with a stern look, the determination evident in her eyes and voice as she remarked, "He's not going to get away with doing this to us, Sango. He's going to pay one way or another."

Stunned into silence at the vehemence in her friend's words, Sango could only watch as Kagome returned to her side and knelt behind her. "Now hold still, I don't want to accidently slice you." Although the shard cut into her palm, it did the trick in slicing through the ropes and soon the slayer was free. A sound of pain escaped her as the circulation was restored in her hands and feet and she shifted so her legs were stretched out before her, one arm crossed over her breasts, feeling exposed.

Wordlessly Kagome untied Inuyasha's kosode, shrugged it off and settled it over Sango's shoulders instead. She at least had a bra on and was more covered than Sango was and at this point didn't give a flying fuck who saw her like this, even if it was Miroku. Too grateful to have something to cover with Sango didn't protest and leveled a tired smile at her as she pushed her arms through the sleeves and secured it closed the same way Kagome had.

"Kagome?" Sango asked and said girl paused in looking for something to secure Tetsusaiga with. The older woman looked worried, chewing on her bottom lip and Kagome suspected what she was going to say next. "Miroku...is he alright? I saw him take a blow to the head..."

Expression softening, Kagome aimed a smile at her and put her fears to rest. "He's fine, Sango," she assured. "Unconscious, but in much better shape than you or I." She chuckled softly and shook her head, giving up on finding something to secure the fang with and simply shoved it through the waistband of her skirt. It would have to do for now.

Sango visibly relaxed at the news and nodded, closing her eyes and heaving a sigh. Then she winced and gingerly touched her ribs, hoping she'd merely bruised them and not cracked a bone. "Shippou?" she asked to distract herself from the pain.

Sango was surprised at the stormy, vengeful look that passed her friend's face but then her expression cleared and her eyes softened in understanding. After what Kagome had gone though, judging by her rough appearance, it was no wonder something had changed to make her this hardened, battle-ready woman. She had no idea what she and Inuyasha had gone through to get here, although Yuudai had alluded to the fact they were being pursued, but she could guess it hadn't been easy and suddenly Sango couldn't have admired her friend more in that moment. She'd gone through hell to rescue her and the others and Sango would make sure it wouldn't be in vain.

"Shippou's okay, too," she finally answered and then she scowled. "I found him barely conscious with a sutra plastered across his back. God, he must have been like that for hours, in pain... _ooooh_ , when I get my hands on him..." Kagome flexed her fingers, imagining them wrapped around the faceless Yuudai's neck. She'd been hanging around Inuyasha too much, she vaguely noted. How else would she have suddenly become this bloodthirsty?

Amused despite herself – she'd never seen Kagome quite so ready to inflict bodily harm on someone before – Sango attempted to get to her feet, but sharp pains shooting through her chest and ribs prevented her and she fell back down with a gasp, her arm wrapped around her stomach as she doubled over, gasping.

"Sango!" Rushing over to her Kagome wrapped an arm around her shoulders and encouraged the older woman to lean against her. "Your ribs?" she guessed and made a face at Sango's nod. "Damn. I don't think you can walk, but we can't stick around here for much longer. It's like you said, he could come back any time and I don't—"

"Well, well, well," an amused male voice drawled and both woman stiffened as their blood ran cold. "What _do_ we have here...?"

 **-X-**

If Inuyasha thought that this Yuudai asshole was arrogant before, now he was pretty damn positive that the guy must have believed he was invincible. Or at least close to it; for someone who commanded a human army, he sure as hell felt confident enough to leave his castle completely unguarded. Inuyasha had no idea how long he'd been wandering the barren halls, but so far he hadn't come across even one samurai.

Rounding yet another corner, Inuyasha's lip curled in disgust. Well, he hadn't come across any _alive_ , anyhow.

The blood had been first, spattering the floors and walls in small amounts, and then growing thicker. Followed by a severed hand, an arm, a leg. Then the bodies, dismembered and rotting away, started popping up, growing more frequent the closer he got to the front entrance. And for once Inuyasha was grateful he didn't have his heightened sense of smell, because even as a human the stench of rotting and decayed flesh was making him nauseous.

Stepping over yet another body sans the head, Inuyasha was glad, even if he didn't like it, that he was the one subjected to such a grisly sight and not Kagome. He could only hoped she had been spared the gruesome results to the Band of Seven's massacre and that her side of the castle didn't have any dead bodies lying around. He was pretty confident that was the case, since there hadn't been anything where they'd parted ways and since Kagome was going deeper into the castle while he was headed toward the front, it made sense there shouldn't be anything like this where she was headed.

At one point he'd stumbled across the room where Bankotsu had executed the samurai general and the lord of the castle. The burn marks had been extensive, but he'd still been able to tell that the blackened lump lying next to a body had been the lord's head. The general had been completely incinerated. Needless to say it hadn't been a pretty sight and not for the first time he was supremely glad he'd taken this end of the castle and Kagome hadn't.

Inuyasha descended some stairs and once more had to pick his away across the minefield of bodies and castle debris. These ones looked more like castle employees than soldiers, and he could only tell by the clothing, which consisted of the female variety. He set his jaw and tried very hard not to think about how many women were slaughtered as he made his way to a completely destroyed section of wall and peered curiously inside.

Unsurprisingly he found more bodies and rubbish, but apparently he also found some sort of weapons storage room and the first thing he spotted was a very familiar bone boomerang propped against the wall beside an equally recognizable shakujo. The weight of his worry about finding them was lessened considerably, however he couldn't let himself feel relieved just yet. He was glad he knew for certain now that they were here, but he still didn't know what condition they were in. Inuyasha could only hope that they were pulling through.

Another thought occurred to him then and he perked up a little, hoping maybe he could find Tetsusaiga stashed here somewhere, but before he could venture further inside and investigate, a high pitched, piercing shriek reverberated from somewhere deep within the castle and Inuyasha paused, turning his head to frown thoughtfully in the direction it came from. That had sounded like a man very much in pain and Inuyasha could think of only one thing that would make a man sound like _that_.

He grinned and released a rough laugh. "Thatta girl, Kagome," he mumbled, shaking his head in amusement and resisting the urge to cup himself. Damn, but judging by the octave that scream had reached, Inuyasha wagered the poor guy had just lost his ability to father children.

A sudden commotion from down the hall drew Inuyasha's attention and he watched as several samurai, no doubt drawn by that screech as well, rushed by to investigate. Aw, shit.

He had no time to wonder where they had been hiding; one of them spotted him standing amidst the rubble and stopped dead in his tracks, prompting the others to halt as well and suddenly Inuyasha had the attention of four armed guards and by the looks of things, it was about to get very interesting.

"Boys," Inuyasha greeted nonchalantly and in response the guards drew their weapons and advanced.

Inuyasha sighed. Well, at least he had an arsenal of weapons to choose from.

He stared at the guards, they stared at him as they approached ever closer, and then suddenly Inuyasha dove to the right, grabbed the first sword he saw, and whipped round just in time to block the blade that came swinging down toward his head. He smirked at the samurai's surprised look.

"Let's dance, assholes."

Thirty enthusiastic minutes later, Inuyasha was sporting several new bleeding cuts, a black eye, and a cut lip but he was still standing while three of his adversaries were sprawled out on the floor, unconscious or too injured to get up.

Gripping his sweat and blood-slicked weapon in his hands, Inuyasha's breathing was slightly labored as he faced off against the fourth guard, who was in similar conditions, if not worse off than he. He'd lost his helmet and protective armor long ago and was down to simple breeches and tunic, both stained with blood and he dragged in wheezing breaths as he glared hatefully at his black-haired opponent. Sharp violet eyes noted the way his hands shook as they clutched the sword in a death grip and his knees were wobbling. He didn't think the man would be standing for much longer, which suited him just fine; Inuyasha needed to finish this quickly and find Kagome.

If these human men had heard that distant screech, chances were very likely so had Yuudai and the thought that he was with his Kagome right now did not sit well with him.

"Surrender," the samurai rasped, "and I won't kill you."

Inuyasha snorted and was about to retort with some insult to his intelligence when something deep within him pulsed and he could feel the first vestiges of his demonic power trickling back into his weary human body. Any pain he was feeling faded until it disappeared completely and he was already regaining his strength.

Perfect timing.

Wordlessly Inuyasha tossed his weapon aside and watched the horrified shock flash across the human's face as he witnessed his appearance drastically change. Raven hair lightened into silver, talons replaced blunt human fingernails, and previously dark eyes became a stunning gold. His wounds shrunk until they completely vanished on his skin, the bruises disappearing and the only evidence that he had been wounded at all was the dried blood smearing his bared skin.

Inuyasha wasn't at all surprised at the choked gasp that escaped his opponent as his attention was drawn to the top of his head by twin furry ears that were flicking back and forth. The weapon dropped from his hands and clattered onto the floor, forgotten.

After the transformation was complete, Inuyasha rolled his shoulders and raised a hand, cracking his knuckles loudly as he flexed his fingers and brandished his claws. The man flinched harshly at the ominous sound, clearly flabbergasted as his mouth opened and closed soundlessly, his eyes wide with the beginnings of fear flashing across them.

Inuyasha gave a slow, fang-baring grin and the samurai took a step back in alarm. As much as Inuyasha wanted to taunt this fucker, he didn't have the time. Kagome needed him.

"I'll surrender," Inuyasha finally answered and shifted his body into a crouch, golden eyes flashing dangerously as he growled next, "but you'll hafta catch me first."

Before the guard could even blink Inuyasha _moved_ , darting forward in a silver and red blur and appearing behind the frightened warrior in the next second.

"Too slow," Inuyasha rumbled in his ear and the human samurai barely had time to scream before the hanyou delivered a hard blow to his head, instantly knocking him out as he landed with a heavy thud onto the floor with his other fallen brethren.

Sneering down at them, Inuyasha didn't spare them even a second glance as he sauntered away from the scene, figuring he'd come back and sniff out Tetsusaiga later. "Now if you'll excuse me," he carelessly drawled, "I need to go find my wench and slaughter your boss. It hasn't been a pleasure."

 **-X-**

Cold fear swiftly turned into red hot, boiling anger, coursing through her veins like lava, heating her blood and this time as the adrenaline flowed through her body, her response was to _fight_ , not to flee. _This_ was the creature responsible for kidnapping her friends. This _youkai_ was responsible for sending those damn samurai after them, for hurting her dear little Shippou, knocking Miroku unconscious and subjugating her dearest friend to his sick, twisted and disgusting methods of getting his dusty, decrepit, wrinkly old rocks off.

 _This_ was the _thing_ that had forced she and Inuyasha to run for their lives, had forced Inuyasha to sacrifice the only thing he had left of his father in order to save their lives, had subjugated them to this night of living _hell_ just because he was throwing a temper tantrum over something that happened _centuries ago._

Needless to say, Kagome had a _lot_ of pent up rage that had built over the course of the night and she knew _just who_ to take it out on.

Between the beat of a heartbeat and the next, Kagome unsheathed Tetsusaiga, whirled around so fast Sango gasped in surprise as she leaned back, and pointed the business end of the blade directly at his throat with the fiercest, deadliest and most baleful scowl she could muster. She didn't care that she was a human and he was a youkai; she didn't care that he was ten times more stronger than she was, and she definitely gaze _zero fucks_ that he could probably kill her before she could even blink.

None of that mattered. He hurt her friends, her precious Inuyasha, and he was _not_ going to get away with it.

" _You_ ," Kagome seethed, ignoring the way Yuudai's pale eyebrows lifted in unveiled amusement. "How _dare_ you."

Yuudai cocked a brow, clearly unimpressed. "Indeed," he murmured after a pause. "And I suppose I have _you_ to thank for rendering poor Seiichi out there into an incoherent babbling mess." It was more a statement than a question and his tone suggested he already knew her reply.

Cold satisfaction flashed across Kagome's face and she leveled him with a nasty smile. " _Indeed_ ," she mocked him snidely. "And _that_ , you asshole, is only a small _taste_ for what I plan on doing to _you_." Keeping her eyes locked on his pale green gaze, Kagome deliberately lowered the tip of Tetsusaiga until it was pointed directly at his crotch.

Behind her Sango choked on a laugh and quickly covered her mouth, though her eyes were laughing.

Instead of cringing away and protectively cupping himself as Kagome expected, Yuudai merely tilted his head at her, expression strangely blank as if he was listening intently at something, and then he flicked a glance down at the sword quite literally threatening his manhood. Kagome resisted the urge to scowl.

"Bloodthirsty little thing, aren't you," Yuudai mused, more to himself than to her, and then he grinned, revealing very sharp and lethal looking fangs and the first word that popped into Kagome's mind was _vampire_. "I like it. Perhaps I will get what I desire from you, instead of the delectable slayer." His creepy pale gaze drifted behind her and he licked his lips.

Livid, Kagome subtly shifted her stance to block his view of her friend. She did scowl that time and she made no effort to mask the disgust on her face and in her voice as she spat, "I'd sooner die, thanks."

Yuudai shrugged. "Then the slayer shall suffice. I have no preference so long as I receive my meal."

"Don't you touch her!" Kagome whipped Tetsusaiga back up to his throat, suddenly frantic to keep this bastard away from her dearest friend.

The youkai remained impassive to her silent threat, hardly even flinching, and merely cocked a brow at her. "Oh? Then you are volunteering?"

Kagome clamped her jaw shut and glared heatedly at him in stony silence.

Sango understood what Kagome didn't say and her eyes widened as she lurched forward, ignoring the pain in her ribs, and reached up to grasp Kagome's skirt. "Kagome, no!" she hissed, shaking her head, her face pale, eyes desperate. "No, I can't—I _won't_ let you—"

"I won't let him hurt you anymore, Sango," Kagome said with a solid finality that Sango had never heard come from the young woman before. She watched as Kagome's eyes narrowed, her face hardening as her jaw set in determination. "You've already been through enough tonight. Don't worry; I can handle him." It was a lie; she was bone weary, and most likely would _not_ be able to handle him, but she didn't plan on letting it happen anyway so it didn't matter. If he so much as breathed on her, she'd purify his ass until he was nothing but dust in the wind.

Apparently bored with their exchange, Yuudai sighed loudly and wandered over to lean against a support pillar, crossing his arms and regarding them with vacant pale eyes. Wait—vacant? Kagome narrowed her eyes and followed his every move, making sure to keep herself between him and Sango, Tetsusaiga still wielded before her. "I suggest you figure this out amongst yourselves, quickly," he drawled. "I am rather hungry. If you recall, my meal _was_ interrupted. Rather rudely, I might add."

Sango scoffed but Kagome didn't react as a speculative glint entered her eyes. She stared into his eyes again, noting how they almost seemed to see _through_ her, and not at her. They were unusually pale, so pale Kagome would even call them filmy. A sneaking suspicious started to develop in her mind as she tied all the little clues together. Long, sharp fangs; pale milky eyes; a freaking _bloodsucker_ ; the way his reactions were delayed, how he seemed to think before he moved…

Kagome blinked as the word vampire flashed before her mind's eye again and she frowned. No, not an _actual_ vampire from movies and books – that was ridiculous – but another blood consuming creature, one with wings, is considered nocturnal, covered in fur… Kagome squinted her eyes and looked closer, not failing to miss the way Yuudai didn't seem to notice her intent perusal, and she could detect a fine layer of pale fur covering his face. His ears, while shaped like regular ears she'd come to associate as youkai, had the ability to swivel and flick at the sides of his head as he listened.

It all added up, telling Kagome that her hunch was correct, but there was just one thing…

"Bats aren't blind," she blurted out and watched as a startled look crossed Yuudai's features. "That's just a myth…isn't it?"

Yuudai grinned again, flashing long fangs, and now that Kagome wasn't blinded by her anger any longer, she saw they were tinted a faint red. "Clever girl," he praised and inclined his head to her. "You are correct. Our animal brethren are not blind; however I cannot say the same for youkais. Where do you think that myth originated?" He shrugged, as if the answer was obvious.

Kagome blinked and then huffed in annoyance, peeved that she couldn't find any fault with that assessment. "But I've met bat youkais before," Kagome pressed on. "I'm pretty confident none of them were blind."

Yuudai stared at her sightlessly for a moment before his expression cleared. "Ah, you must be mean Taigokumaru and his colony, yes?" She didn't answer so he assumed she was. "You are correct again, they were not blind. Not all bat youkais are blind, however a large percentage of us _are_ befallen with the curse of sightlessness. Unfortunately, I fall into that percentage. Such is life, however," he continued with a woebegone lilt to his voice. "I have learned to adapt and—"

"You know, I really don't care," Kagome callously cut him off and reveled in his look of affront, though she couldn't be sure if it was from interrupting him or her lack of sympathy. "You could be blind, ugly, _and_ dickless and I still wouldn't even come _close_ to caring about your pathetic excuse for an existence." Then she suddenly smiled at him and it dripped with less than pure intent. "Look at that; you scored a two out of three. Hold still and I'll make it three—"

Yuudai threw his head back and released a barking laugh and Kagome scowled. Her threats were not funny, dammit! "You are _delightfully_ vicious," he exclaimed and turned wide, slightly manic pale eyes toward her. "I _love_ it! More and more I am convinced that you are perfect for me. And your _blood_ …" He inhaled deeply and his euphoric moan had Kagome feeling sick. "It smells _divine_ , more so than the slayer's." With scary accuracy that pale gaze fixated on the wound in her thigh and to Kagome's dismay she found it had started bleeding again, though only a little.

When she lifted her head she let out an alarmed scream because Yuudai was suddenly right in front of her, baring his fangs in a hungry grin. She stumbled backward on reflex but managed to regain her balance before she ended up flat on the floor, and she had no doubt he would take full advantage of that. Recovering quickly Kagome brought the fang back up, maintaining the distance between them even if all it really did was delay him a second or two. He'd just clearly demonstrated his speed and it put Kagome on edge.

Yuudai chuckled, tilted his head and dropped his unseeing eyes to the sword she was wielding. His amusement faded slightly and his brows furrowed. "That blade," he said thoughtfully and flicked a brief glance over to the wall, where Kagome had found it. "That is Tetsusaiga, is it not?"

Kagome grit her teeth and glared at him as her grip tightened on the sword.

"My soldiers discovered it while patrolling the forest in search of you and that half-breed. They had orders to bring it to me should they get their hands on it." His expression darkened. "Imagine my surprise, however, to discover a damned barrier around it that prevents me from wielding it." He snorted disdainfully but then shrugged. "No matter, however. I expected the powerful Fang of legend to be an actual blade worthy of slaying one hundred youkais in one stroke. That is naught but a toy. Keep it; it is no great loss to me."

Instantly Kagome relaxed and exchanged a glance with Sango and it was clear they were thinking the same thing, even if he couldn't wield it: the stakes just tipped in their favor if he was unaware of Tetsusaiga's true potential.

"I grow bored of this idle chatter," Yuudai suddenly announced and both women stiffened; they were running out of time. He pushed away from the beam and regarded Kagome coolly. "I will give you one last chance, woman. Become mine own, provide me that which I require, and in return I will service you. Decide now."

Instant fury that he had the audacity to even _assume_ she would _ever_ serve his blood-sucking ass coursed savagely through her body, fortifying her strength, restoring her confidence, and hardening her resolve to make it through this until Inuyasha arrived. She had faith in her hanyou; it had to be close to dawn by now, if it wasn't already. They just had to hold out for a little longer.

Standing her ground, unwavering and glaring with all the hatred and disgust she could muster, Kagome gritted out, "Go to hell."

Yuudai nodded, as if he had expected her answer. "Then you and the slayer will die. I prefer my meal alive, however the taste of a corpse's blood suits me _just fine!_ "

He was shouting by end and then he was charging forward, hand raised, claws brandished, and Kagome released a short scream before dropping to the floor, narrowly missing his swipe to her head.

"Kagome!" Sango shouted and moved to assist her friend, but a sharp pain shooting through her bruised ribs stopped her and she gasped, doubling over.

"It's okay, Sango!" Kagome reassured her as she dodged another attack, flipped over onto her stomach and scrambled to her feet. "I can— _ah!_ " Yuudai materialized beside her and she was forced to dive to the right to avoid another blow to her head. "Dammit, would you stop that?!" Already breathing heavily from avoiding his attacks, Kagome spun around and held Tetsusaiga out before her with shaking hands, her earlier bravado quickly draining once she realized she may be in over her head now. Yuudai truly meant to kill her and she was in very real danger.

She bit her lip to stifle the panicked sob that welled in her throat, desperately trying to think up a way to stall him, give her and Sango some urgently needed time. _Inuyasha, where—wait a minute…that's it!_

Yuudai's mocking laugh drew her attention back to him. "You think to harm with that rusty toy? It is a pathetic excuse for a blade and so is the filthy half-breed that wields it!" He snarled and darted forward, extending his hand, ready to drive his hand into her stomach—

"Why do you hate him?" Kagome blurted out as she scuttled backward, away from those deadly talons.

Yuudai stopped abruptly and aimed a narrow-eyed glare at her. "Hate who?"

Thanking her lucky stars that her distraction worked, Kagome hurried to explain, "Why do you hate Inuyasha? It's his father you have a grudge against, not him! So why are you going through all this trouble—"

"That bastard's blood is running through his veins, and that is reason enough for me!" Yuudai barked, scowling darkly and went to attack again, this time managing to slice a shallow cut across her cheek before she ducked out of the way again and darted to the other side of the room.

"Hold still, goddamn you!" he bellowed and advanced again.

"You're crazy if you think I'll let you kill me that easily," Kagome hissed as she spun back around, her back facing the door and Tetsusaiga brandished before her once more. It was more for show than anything since she knew in its current state it couldn't even cut wet paper, but it was comforting nonetheless, knowing she had a part of her beloved hanyou with her. And hey, she'd lasted this long with it; Kagome considered it her new good luck charm.

"It is inevitable," Yuudai sneered and once more advanced on her. "I will cut you down, drain you of your blood, and destroy that abomination that shares my enemy's bloodline."

"Tell me why you hate him!" Kagome insisted, refusing it went far deeper than what he was claiming. She took a step back, maintaining the distance between them.

Yuudai snarled in annoyance. "Persistent bitch, the only thing you need to concern yourself with is your inescapable death by my hand." He stalked her, advancing then drawing back, pacing side to side and he smirked nastily as the scent of her fear spiked.

Heart pounding, skin covered in a cold sweat and feeling like she was about to be sick everywhere, Kagome swallowed back her fear as much as she could and refused to give into her his intimidating tactics. She knew what he was doing; she'd seen Inuyasha do it many times before when facing off with a foe and knew it would be fatal if she allowed herself to be distracted.

" _Why?_ " she demanded again, determined to get the truth even if it was only to buy more time. Despite herself she was curious and wanted to get to the bottom of it. Plus didn't they _deserve_ a damned reason after what he put them through?

Yuudai snarled and his lip twitched, his furious scowl deepening. "You are trying my patience, bitch. It is none of your—"

"You're damn right it's my concern!" Kagome fired back before he could even finish his sentence and she returned his scowl with one of her own. "You've made this night a living hell for us and I _demand_ to know what's got your panties in such a twist!"

He ignored her. "Prepare to—"

"Oh, shut up!" Kagome snapped and he actually looked shocked. God, Kagome was getting a headache from this rollercoaster of emotions she was on; anger, fear, annoyance, fatigue, constantly ping-ponging between each of them. Her patience had just about run out now and she was _so_ done. "Quit being a damned coward and—"

" _I am not a coward!_ " Yuudai suddenly thundered and his face actually turned red.

Kagome paused and she could not hold back the smirk that spread across her face. Struck a nerve, did she? _Perfect_. "Are you so sure?" she sneered at him, reveling in the way his face turned in even deeper shade of scarlet and she was sure if looks could kill she'd be six feet under by now. "Attacking Inuyasha and kidnapping our friends on this particular night _couldn't_ have been a coincidence. The timing was too perfect; right after sundown, and you _know_ what happens to him at that time, don't you?"

Yuudai remained silent and glowered balefully at her, his jaw clenched so hard the tendons in his neck stood out.

Kagome inwardly cackled. "That's what I thought. Only a _coward_ "—he flinched and she outright grinned—"would kidnap defenseless humans and torture them. Only a _coward_ would hide behind a human army and use _them_ to take down your enemies instead of yourself. Only a _coward_ —"

"Shut up," Yuudai hissed, hands shaking and balled into tight fists, baring his fangs in a lethal snarl.

"—would be so terrified by a single human that he attacks him on the one night where he knows he is the weakest." She continued as if he hadn't even spoken, and though he was taller than her she lifted her chin just so to make it look like she was staring down her nose at him disdainfully. "So you might want to take a good, hard, long look in the mirror, Yuudai, because when I look at you, all I see—"

" _Don't_ ," Yuudai barked as he bent his knees, preparing to leap at her and so lost in his rage he failed to notice the deep, subsonic growl that suddenly rent the room.

Kagome noticed and her heart leapt in her chest. _Finally!_ Out of her peripheral she saw Sango scoot back to lean against the wall, out of harm's way, and the slayer shot her a relieved smile; she heard it, too.

"—is a big—"

"Don't _fucking_ say it—"

"—fat—"

He snarled. " _Bitch_ —"

"—pitiful—"

He howled. " _I am not a—!_ "

"— _ **coward**_."

" _Izayoi was supposed to be mine, dammit!"_ Yuudai roared just as the doors behind Kagome exploded into a million pieces, filling the room with dust and debris. Kagome didn't even flinch, her grip on Tetsusaiga steady as the bat youkai fell back in surprise with a startled yelp. She tried not to let the shock show on her face at his exclamation. This had to do with Inuyasha's mother?

"I strongly suggest," came a gruff male voice from behind her and Kagome closed her eyes, the relief swamping her so strong her that knees nearly gave out on her, "that you rethink what you're gonna say next because if you so much as think my mother's name, I might have to kill you."

A familiar red robe was draped over her shoulders right before a clawed hand came around and touched her bare stomach, dragged familiar claws up across her chest and angled his arm to grip her opposite shoulder, pulling her flush against a strong chest.

"You're late, dogboy," Kagome murmured and smiled when she felt lips brush against her ear. She gratefully shoved her arms through the firerat sleeves, glad to finally have something to cover up with.

"Sounded to me like you were handling yourself pretty well," Inuyasha rumbled in return and pressed a kiss to her neck, giving a soft sigh.

Kagome melted against him, confident he would support her weight and when her tired arms started to droop from holding Tetsusaiga so long, his palm skimmed down her arm, claws grazing her flesh, and she gladly relinquished her hold on the hilt when his hand covered her own.

Once more reunited with its rightful owner, the blade transformed, becoming the powerful Fang left to him by his father that had become his own through hard work and determination. Inuyasha angled the sword in front of her, caging her in between him and Tetsusaiga and Kagome knew without a doubt she was the safest woman in the world at the moment.

Through the haze of dust still settling Kagome saw the look of wide-eyed horror on Yuudai's face as he gazed unseeingly in astonishment at the transformed fang, clearly having underestimated its worth. Although Kagome knew he couldn't see it, no doubt he had felt the change in the air, the energy the mighty fang gave off in its true form so of course he'd be flabbergasted that the sword he'd previously thought was useless had turned out to be everything but. His mouth opened and closed, trying and failing to find the words to voice his confusion and shock, but nothing came out and Kagome resisted the urge to point and say, "Ha! What do you think of my ' _toy'_ now?!"

While his opponent gaped like a fool at them, Inuyasha turned his head slightly and cast an inquiring glance over at Sango still propped against the wall. She saw his silent question and dipped her head once, wordlessly saying she was alright. He nodded back and turned his gaze back to the pathetic youkai before him.

A low growl rumbled in his chest and his brows snapped low over his eyes, face screwing up in a truly fearsome scowl as his grip tightened on the woman pressed against him. Kagome's hand on his arm soothed him somewhat, but his fury was obvious. It seemed like all he was able to do at the moment was glare murderously at the bat so Kagome gladly took over, aiming a rather smug smile at the bewildered Yuudai.

"Yuudai here was just telling me, Inuyasha, why he felt the need to kidnap our friends and attack us on the night of the new moon, of all nights," Kagome said in a faux pleasant voice and her eyes promised she would sic the seething hanyou behind her on him if he failed to comply. "Weren't you, Yuudai?"

Flinching harshly, Yuudai mustered up the bravado to scowl at them, but it was weak and neither of them failed to notice how he had yet to get to his feet. A harsh growl from Inuyasha reminded him to proceed with extreme caution. "She was supposed to be mine," he hissed softly, glaring at them both. " _I_ had her first, _loved_ her first—then that damned dog came along and she forgot about me!" He slammed a fist down onto the ground in a fit of anger and it reminded Kagome of a child throwing a tantrum.

"So you're telling me," Inuyasha began, his voice dangerously low, "that you abducted my friends, ordered your pathetic human army to chase us through the forest, forcing us to run for our fucking lives, _stole_ my Tetsusaiga, and _attacked my mate_ all because of some fucking _crush_ you had on my mother before I was even born?!" His voice had steadily escalated into a loud incredulous bellow and Kagome could feel the vibration from his deadly growl against her back.

Then his words registered and she gasped, her eyes going wide. Inuyasha squeezed her gently and she understood the gesture for what it was: talk later when the danger had passed. Ducking her head though unable to hide her smile, Kagome gave an imperceptible nod and squeezed his arm.

To his credit Yuudai didn't react to Inuyasha's outburst and merely glowered at him with pale sightless eyes in stony silence, jaw set stubbornly.

Evidently Inuyasha did not like his lack of answer and suddenly swung Tetsusaiga toward him, aiming the tip right at his throat though he kept his arm securely tightly around Kagome.

Yuudai felt a slight breeze and didn't even need his eyes to know the blade was directed at his throat in deadly threat. He swallowed thickly and said through gritted teeth, "It wasn't just a crush, hanyou," he spat resentfully. "I _loved_ her."

Inuyasha snorted. "Yeah, you loved her so much you didn't even fight for her. Probably just gave up—just like a _coward_ would." He smirked when Yuudai flinched at the word.

The bat youkai ground his teeth together, reeling in his desire to leap up and attack, but feared he would be impaled by Tetsusaiga so wisely stayed put. "Why would I fight for a lowly trollop who prefers dogs over—"

"Watch it," Inuyasha warned in a low growl and nudged Tetsusaiga little closer to his throat.

Yuudai huffed in annoyance. "It was a lost cause," he continued more carefully, his voice bitter. "I knew the moment she first saw him she was gone; it would have been pointless to fight a losing battle." He scowled then and some of his earlier confidence surged to the fore. "It was then that I made a vow to get my revenge against the Inu no Taisho, destroy him, and kill Izayoi as well for rejecting me."

"Well, obviously that didn't happen," Inuyasha couldn't help but comment and looked completely unrepentant at Yuudai's annoyed glare.

"Obviously," he said through gritted teeth, fighting to keep his rage contained lest he be skewered. "The damn fool died sealing that pesky dragon, and Izayoi disappeared with _you_."

"That still doesn't tell us why you targeted us or how you know about the new moon," Kagome pointed out and couldn't hold back a startled gasp when Yuudai's gaze snapped to her and locked on with such accuracy Kagome almost forgot that he was blind.

Getting tired of this interrogation, Yuudai growled and moved to stand. "I fail to see how that is any of your— _erk._ "

Something very sharp and cold dug into the hollow of his throat and Yuudai froze.

" _Don't. Move,_ " Inuyasha growled, voice filled with lethal warning. When he was sure the bastard was going to stay put, he stated, "If it concerns my parents, my mate, or my pack, it concerns _me_. Now spit it out."

Swallowing thickly, and then wincing when the tip of the blade cut into his flesh, the bat youkai continued, his voice wavering slightly, "I-I watched you," he admitted a little breathlessly. "After I heard Izayoi died, I tracked you down but before I could kill you the Inu no Taisho's oldest son always thwarted me and I had to retreat. So I followed you for weeks, waiting for a chance, and I witnessed you change into a human on the moonless night."

"Wait a minute," Inuyasha interrupted and frowned down at the bat youkai. "Are you saying that bastard Sesshomaru stopped you from offing me?"

"That's what I said," Yuudai snapped. "He was always there, ensuring I kept my distance, and that was when I decided I would destroy _him_ as well. When I discovered he kept a human pet, I abducted her before coming after you to start my plan for revenge."

Both Inuyasha and Kagome's jaw dropped at that bit of news and Inuyasha sputtered out, "You mean you _took_ Sesshomaru's human ward and you're still _alive?_ "

He scoffed arrogantly. "Of course I am. The Lord of the West is no match for me."

Two sets of eyes stared at him skeptically. "He's bluffing," Inuyasha said at length and Kagome nodded sagely while Yuudai sputtered indignantly.

"I am not!"

"He's totally bluffing," Kagome affirmed and then a sly glint entered her eyes. "Unless," she drawled, her lips twitching upward into a smirk, "he ran away and hid like the _coward_ he is."

Yuudai flinched, turned a dark shade of scarlet, and tried to hide the guilt in his eyes by scowling at them but he wasn't fast enough.

Inuyasha snorted as Kagome snickered, but the thought of that cold prick actually protecting him when he was just a runt was mindboggling. Sesshomaru? The one who hated him? Who blamed him for their father's death? No _fucking_ way.

Recovering from her bout of amusement at his expense, Kagome shook her head in confusion. "But why did you decide to go after him now after all this time?"

Yuudai snorted. "What, you think I haven't tried? I did, for several years, right up until the damn mutt got himself sealed to a tree." At this he barked a mocking laugh and his mouth stretched into a condescending grin. "How pathetic, falling for such an obvious trick! I suppose it makes sense; half the youkai, half the brain!" He laughed again but it was abruptly cut off when Tetsusaiga dug into his throat again, this time drawing blood.

Gripping Inuyasha's wrist with her hand, having tugged it forward and dug the fang into the asshole's throat, Kagome scowled at the bat youkai and growled impressively well for a human, "If you don't quit it with those comments I'm going to purify you and I promise will be a _hell_ of a lot more painful than what Inuyasha will do."

Behind her Inuyasha chuckled and have her a squeeze, bending his head to nuzzle her ear. "Better listen to her, stupid bat," he said casually. "I've been purified, and it ain't exactly something to sneeze at."

Clearing his throat, Yuudai needed no prompting to continue with his explanation, at this point just hoping he'd be able to escape with all of his body parts intact.

Together they watched the color drain from Yuudai's face and satisfied, Kagome nodded and released Inuyasha's wrist but kept her hand on his arm. She gestured for him to keep going and once more leaned back against Inuyasha. He released a soothing rumble and gave her another brief squeeze.

"After discovering he'd been put under a sealing spell," Yuudai said and his voice was dull with resignation now, "I lied low and sought to become stronger. Decades passed – what was it, fifty years? – when suddenly I heard rumors of a hanyou and a ragtag team of humans traveling the land and looking for some jewel. I'd heard this jewel could make you stronger, but my only goal was to destroy Inuyasha and all those he cared for." Defeated pale eyes gazed up at them. "The timing couldn't have been more perfect. The new moon was approaching, I was stronger than ever..." He shrugged, as if that explained everything. "I had the human samurais ambush your camp, take your friends and drive you toward this castle."

"Drive us? No, we figured out where they were on our own." Kagome frowned at him.

Yuudai sighed and arched an eyebrow. "You don't truly think it was coincidence that led you here? _Please_. Give me more credit than that." He rolled his eyes with a derisive snort.

Suddenly having had enough with his attitude and the whole goddamn situation altogether, Inuyasha growled and in one swift movement he flicked his wrist and slammed the broadside of Tetsusaiga against the bat youkai's chest, sending him flying backward. "You know, I really don't care if it was coincidence or whatever," he spat and reluctantly released Kagome, stepping in front of her to block her from view as he advanced toward his enemy. "I've been through hell tonight, I'm fucking dead on my feet, my friends and mate are in pain because of you, and I ain't feeling too forgiving at the moment. So guess what's gonna happen next, asshole."

Leveling Tetsusaiga with his chest, Inuyasha's lips peeled back into a dangerous snarl, infuriated amber eyes flashing with a deep-seeded hatred that burned hotter than a thousand suns and despite not being able to see it, Yuudai could practically _feel_ the waves of his abhorrence rolling off of him and, for the first time during the entire exchange, he felt a very real lick of fear in his stomach.

Lying on his back amidst the rubble, wide unseeing eyes staring in the direction he sensed the hanyou, Yuudai was paralyzed, unable to scramble away, flee for his life and despite knowing there was no way he could atone for his sins, take back everything he did, apologize over and over, he very suddenly was terrified to die. He wanted to live, dammit, not be done in by this hanyou and his human wench!

"N-no, please!" he begged, shaking his head and trying to shuffle backward. "Don't—!"

"Inuyasha, wait."

Inuyasha stopped and Yuudai wondered if the woman was going to pardon him. He watched with nervous anticipation as she walked up to him and gestured for him to lean down. Not daring to take his eyes off of his victim, Inuyasha did as he was bade and Kagome stood on her tiptoes to whisper something in his ear.

Yuudai sucked in a breath and waited in tense silence, hoping, praying...

The completely sinister grin that slowly stretched the hanyou's mouth had his heart sinking and a ball of dread to sit heavily in his gut. His chest felt tight, he was hot and cold at the same time, breaking out in a nervous sweat, and he tired to swallow the hard lump that had formed in his throat.

Kagome leaned back and Inuyasha gave a small, barely there nod. Then, to his utter bafflement and horror, Kagome glanced at him, gave him a sickly saccharine smile, and walked over to go join the slayer still leaned against the wall.

Inuyasha took his time closing the distance between them and when he was close enough he hefted Tetsusaiga and rested the curved edge on Yuudai's chest. Slowly he drew the blade down, down, down until the sharp edge was precariously close to a certain part of Yuudai's anatomy that he fervently hoped would remain on his body even after death.

Keeping his eyes locked with the bat youkai's sightless pale ones, Inuyasha turned his head a fraction and called back, "Girls."

Dropping next to Sango, who'd been watching the exchange in wide-eyed silence the entire time, Kagome nodded mutely and gathered her best friend into her arms. Sango wrapped her arms around her and hid her face in the young woman's shoulder while Kagome buried her face in Sango's hair, not caring that it was filthy and knotted.

Satisfied, Inuyasha turned his full attention to the pathetic sight before him. Yuudai had gone limp, defeat written in every muscle in his body, on the lines of his face, unseeing eyes gazing up at the ceiling with his arms and legs splayed out. And for some stupid reason Inuyasha hesitated, wondering if what he felt at the moment was pity, or misguided sympathy. Dammit, but he didn't want to kill someone looking so weak and pathetic! It was against his sense of honor, to kill someone during a time when they're the most vulnerable. But he knew he couldn't go unpunished; what he did to Sango, Miroku, and Shippou...what he did to his Kagome... No, it was unforgivable.

Mind made up, Inuyasha bared his fangs in a mocking grin, angled Tetsusaiga _just so_ —

"W-wait, wait! _No...!_ "

 **-X-**

An hour later Kagome stood in the room Inuyasha had found for her and watched as he left to go check on Sango and Miroku. As it turned out, her hanyou hadn't had the heart to truly end Yuudai's life, claiming he looked too pathetic and it went against everything he was to off him then. "It ain't fair," he'd said, "And besides, I think he's learned his lesson."

Kagome smiled. She had to agree. After carrying out her plea to ensure he would never have children or enjoy a woman's body _ever_ again – she meant to keep her promises, dammit – Inuyasha had hefted the unconscious youkai over his shoulder, barked a command to wait there for him, then left to go dump his body far away, not particularly caring what happened to him but also glad he wouldn't have to carry the guilt of not sparing his pitiful life.

He'd returned shortly afterward, washed of any blood that may have leaked onto him, and announced they were all too exhausted to travel now and needed their wounds treated, so they were going to stay in the castle for the day and night and recuperate. Kagome and Sango readily agreed, and from the other room, Shippou proclaimed his approval as well. They were all startled, but greatly relieved, to hear Miroku's voice, groggy and rough, chiming in as well that it was a capital idea.

With Inuyasha gingerly charring Sango, who was still in too much pain to walk, the three left walking – Kagome was carrying a dozing Shippou – tracked down empty rooms there were more or less free of any debris or blood and took up residence. Thankfully the rooms had been equipped with futons and after settling Sango into a room with Miroku sinking down beside her – he doubted he'd try anything in her condition – Inuyasha led Kagome to the room next to them and once more left to fetch Miroku's staff and Sango's weapon and sniff out Kagome's bag. He'd mentioned doing a quick run of the place too, to ensure there were no more samurai loitering around that he had to worry about, and mumbling something about getting rid of the bodies in the weapons room...?

Kagome had conveyed her worries about the samurai that had pursued them in the forest coming back to the castle and posing a threat to them, but Inuyasha put her fears to rest by proclaiming if they were coming back they would have been there by now, and even if they did, he doubted the humans would think they were still there, residing in some of the rooms, and wouldn't go looking for them. Too tired to argue, Kagome hadn't protested his logic, and she knew Inuyasha would protect them anyway should anything happen.

She was infinitely glad that, upon getting her belongings back, the jewel shards were still in the little pocket she'd stashed them and she took a moment to just breathe in relief. She took care of Sango first, wrapping her ribs, treating the cuts on her chest – after kicking Miroku out – and giving her some painkillers. She'd fallen asleep shortly afterward and Kagome had turned her attentions to the monk. Thankfully his lump wasn't anything to worry about, but she gave him some aspirin too before retiring to her room and finally treating the wounds in her thigh and arm.

Inuyasha had taken over for that, silently washing them out with some bottled water, spreading some antiseptic over them and wrapping them up tight. Then he'd dragged her into a bone-crushing hug that Kagome readily returned and they just clung to one another for several long minutes, savoring the feel of each other, thankful the nightmarish couple of hours had finally ended.

He'd pulled back way too soon, kissed her forehead, and murmured he'd be right back before stepping out to go next door.

Now here she was, standing in the middle of the room with a deeply slumbering Shippou curled up on the provided futon, oblivious while Kagome stared down at her bag and debated on whether or not to change to just unfurl her sleeping bag and pass out.

She wrinkled her nose. As much as passing out appealed to her, she wanted to wait for Inuyasha to come back and the idea of clean clothes was even more appealing than sleep. Decision made she rummaged around for a clean tank top, panties and sleep shorts, dropping them on top of her bag before straightening and shrugging of Inuyasha's suikan.

She'd just unfastened her bra and was pulling down the straps when the shoji door whispered open, closed just as softy, and bare feet padded across the room over to her. Kagome paused, closed her eyes, and sighed when strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind and pulled her back against a firm chest.

Kagome let the bra drop to the floor; it seemed childish and stupid to be embarrassed now when she'd been running around in her bra with him all night long anyway. Plus it took up too much mental energy to be embarrassed, energy that she definitely didn't have, and she was fairly sure Inuyasha was in a similar place. Soft lips dropped to her shoulder and she smiled.

"So...your mate?" she whispered and had to bit down on her lip to stifle her giggle when he sighed and gave a low growl.

"I don't kiss just anyone, Kagome," he murmured and delivered a soft nip to her shoulder.

"But you'd kiss your mate?" Kagome insisted, a teasing lilt to her voice, and she received another reprimanding nip to her neck for her troubles.

"Wench," he warned but the corners of his lips twitched when she laughed again. Then Kagome was turning in his arms, heedless of her nudity, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Inuyasha gathered her close, resting his forehead against her own and breathing in her scent. Even tinted with sweat, dirt and exhaustion, she still smelled heavenly to him and it still managed to soothe him. Unconsciously he swept his hand up and down her bare back, dragging his claws along her skin, a comforting caress, and Kagome sighed, resting her head on his shoulder and leaning heavily into him.

Kagome released a jaw-cracking yawn and wordlessly he swept her up into his arms and laid her out on her sleeping bag before stretching out next to her and pulling her into his arms. Inuyasha had to admit the feeling of her bare breasts pressed against his chest felt pretty damn good but he knew Kagome was too tired for anything more than simply sleeping. Matter of fact, he could use some shuteye too. They _had_ been up all night running around, after all. They fucking deserved it, dammit.

Once more he started up a sweeping motion of his hand up and down her back, claws gently grazing, and by Kagome's soft purrs of contentment he knew she liked it. He grinned and trailed his claws along her arm, across her collarbone, then back down her back again, and repeat.

"You wanna change?" he asked her, spotting her clothes on top of the yellow bag.

"Nnn," Kagome responded, already half-asleep and he chuckled.

"C'mon," he cajoled and reached over her to grab her change of clothes. "You'll feel better after you change."

Sighing, knowing he was right, Kagome forced herself to sit up and with his help she managed to shimmy out of her skirt and panties and into a fresh pair, but let him drag her shorts up her legs. She eyed the tank top, eyed Inuyasha, then decided to forgo the shirt for her own selfish reasons. Immediately she burrowed back against him, pressing her body flush against his and smiling when he draped his arm over her and continued those lazy sweeps of his hand. His claws felt delightful against her bare skin and she gave another content sigh, thinking that despite their hellish night, she couldn't be happier right at the moment.

Warm, safe, and content, Kagome drifted off in Inuyasha's arms and he dozed lightly, not quite able to fall into a deeper sleep just yet. While he was fairly confident that nothing would happen and they wouldn't receive a surprise ambush from the remaining samurai, Inuyasha still wasn't comfortable being completely unaware so he didn't mind being the one to watch over them. His friends, his precious Kagome, had been through hell last night, and while so had he, he had his hanyou strength and healing to fall back on. They didn't, and he wanted to make sure they were properly taken care of before he even thought of relaxing all the way.

Perhaps an hour or so later Kagome stirred in his arms, bringing him out of his light doze but he didn't open his eyes and merely started up caressing her skin again, drawing soothing little patterns on the small of her back with his claws. But then she sighed softly, her scent shifted, growing a little nervous and Inuyasha tensed because he had a good idea what was on her mind.

"…Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha sighed; he really didn't have the energy for this right now. "Leave it alone, Kagome. We'll talk more later, after you get some rest. Go back to sleep." Whoa, talk about déjà vu…hadn't they had this conversation before? Or one similar to it, at least. God, had it only been just a few hours? It seemed like a lifetime ago.

But of course, like she did then, his stubborn wench didn't listen to him now either. He really should have known better. She only hesitated for a few seconds before trying, "But—"

"Kagome." Heaving a sigh, Inuyasha propped himself up onto his elbow and gazed down at her patiently with a hint of exasperation. "It's been a long night. You're tired, I'm tired, and we both need to rest so we can discuss everything with a clear head _later_. " He gave her a pointed stare and she blushed, ducking her head sheepishly. "Alright?"

"I know," Kagome whispered, still avoiding his gaze and idly playing with a strand of his hair. "It's just…I…" Biting her lip, Kagome snuck a peek up at him through her lashes, her flush darkening.

The open and unashamed worry in her eyes was like a kick to the gut and Inuyasha sucked in a breath. He understood now. His expression softened and then without any warning he rolled on top of her, pinning her beneath his weight as he tenderly took her face in his hands and bent down.

Kagome's eyes were wide as his mouth came down on hers and when she gasped, he deepened his kiss, flicking his tongue across her bottom lip then venturing inside for a more thorough taste. She shuddered and her eyes fluttered close as her mouth softened under his gentle assault, her hands diving into his hair, tilting her head and kissing him back.

A low growl of approval rumbling in his chest, Inuyasha kept the connection slow, heated, and lazy, slicking his tongue against hers and nipping the sensitive flesh of her lip. Kagome whimpered and arched her back; he responded by smoothing his hand down to her hip, grabbing the back for her thigh and then lifting her up against him to meet the deliberate press of his hips so she could feel the full extent of just what she did to him and how bad he didn't want to stop.

Kagome's gasp turned into a quiet moan when he rocked into her, telling her without words and in no uncertain terms that his feelings for her were definitely not about to change anytime soon. She rolled her hips, he growled and unable to resist the intoxicating warmth he did it again, unable to stop from developing a slow, torturous grind that had them both letting out guttural moans.

Panting against her mouth, Inuyasha growled and gave her one last passionate kiss to her lips before dipping his head to kiss her neck, further down to feather kisses over her collarbones and just because he damn well felt like it he ventured further still to her breasts and sucked a pert nipple into his mouth. Kagome moaned again and arched against him, his name falling from her lips in whispering sigh her hands tugged and pulled at his hair, running through the silver strands, questing fingers brushing against his ears.

Pulling back, he brushed a kiss over the glistening peak and finally lifted his head to catch her gaze, his breathing labored and eyes heavy-lidded. Her eyes were closed and he leaned down, gently nipping her nose to gain her attention. Dark chocolate pools glazed over in desire peered up at him through thick lashes and he had to fight against the urge to capture her lips again in another torrid kiss. He knew if he did he wouldn't be able to stop himself from taking it further and now was not the time for that.

But still, he couldn't help but tease her a little and he quirked a half-grin at her, amber eyes flashing mischievously. "Did you understand that or do you need another demonstration?"

Kagome blinked, she blushed, and then giggled, her coffee-colored eyes lighting up with her happiness. "Well, now that you mention it..."

Inuyasha shook his head while his cheeky little wench snickered. "Cute," he mumbled, then sighed and locked gazes with her, his eyes serious. "Nothing's gonna change," he told her, leaning down to rest his forehead against hers and then he gave her one of his slow, genuine smiles that he reserved only for her. "We have all the time in the world now, Kagome," Inuyasha rumbled, nuzzling her nose with his. That elicited an answering smile from her and a breathy laugh. "We don't need to rush anything. So let's get some sleep, and when we wake up we can talk. About everything."

Kagome bit her lip and hesitantly asked, her meaning obvious, " _Everything_?" Images of cold dark eyes and a tragic smile flashed through her mind and she swallowed thickly.

Inuyasha understood. " _Everything_ ," he repeated. "I promise." He kissed her forehead, her nose, then claimed her lips in a tender, lazy kiss before murmuring, "Get some sleep?"

Reassured, Kagome relaxed and gave him a sheepish smile as she nodded. "Okay," she agreed and Inuyasha shifted onto his side again. She wasted no time in snuggling up to him again and he happily took her into his arms, held her tightly against his heart and together they released a sigh of pure contentment.

Safe and warm in the arms of her beloved hanyou, Kagome was fast to succumb to slumber and Inuyasha followed shortly thereafter, the steady beat of her heart his own personal lullaby, her deep and even breathing a comforting reassurance that she was there, they had overcome, and that they finally had the time to just... _be_.


End file.
